TES Episode 4: Come Hell or High Water
by John the Enforcer
Summary: The fourth episode of the Saga is a tie-in with the plot of the first Sonic Adventure game (done poorly, in my own personal opinion)...


THE ENFORCER SAGA  
  
Chapter Four:  
  
Come Hell or High Water  
  
by  
  
John "the Enforcer" Fadeley  
  
THIS IS ESPECIALLY DEDICATED TO STEVE BROADIE, THE VOICE OF SONIC ADVENTURE'S DR. ROBOTNIK, WHO RECENTLY PASSED AWAY.  
  
The date: March 13, 3236. The place: Mobius. Many eons ago, a groupof echidna warriors fell victim to a terrifying and deadly menace. Thiscreature was responsible for guarding a group of jewels known as the Seven Chaos. The most powerful jewel of all was the Master Emerald. The creature guarding these poweful gems was able to harness their power and become stronger. The creature, a god-like being made of water, also guarded a race of small, inoffensive creatures known as the Chao. When it saw its protectorates being harmed by the echidnas in their pursuit of limitless power, it became enraged and took on its ultimate form to eliminate them. What has happened since that time remains a mystery...until now...  
  
Upon John the Echidna's return to Mobius, he had found that a great many things had changed since he was away.  
  
To kick things off, he learned that Robotnik was dead! It turned out that his own weapon of mass destruction, the Ultimate Anihilator, was turned against him by the Freedom Fighters while the bloated tyrant was in the middle of a face-off between Sonic and his Jedi friend Dave. Almost needless to say (but hell, someone's got to say it), only Sonic and Dave walked from the fight.  
  
For another shocker, the city of Echidnopolis reappeared! This city, for the most part populated by echidnas (gee, that was a hard one to figure out!), was rumored to have been destroyed after the fiasco with Dimitri, the echidna scientist-turned-Chaos-Emerald-powered-lunatic. Then again, there it was, shimmering in all its technological glory. John looked at this with the promise of furthering his wealth.  
  
But not all of the news that came to John was good news. For starters, many new enemies had sprouted from Robotnik's death, seeking to claim the robot-loving terrorist's reign for their own dire purposes. The wizard Naugus, the technology-obsessive Dark Legion, the power hungry Mammoth Mogul, the millitant Dingoes, Robotnik's Downundan lieutenant Crocbot, all planning to take Robotnik's place as Mobius' ruler. Many of their attempts were thwarted by Sonic, Knuckles, and their freedom fighter friends.  
  
A terrible thing had happened. Kara Vulpix, the girl John had saved from slavery in one of Robotnik's mining camps, had deserted the Chaotix. John's followers claimed that she flipped out and went crazy. John, however, saw through their lies. As it truly turned out, Kara was driven away by their prejudice towards Pokemobians. Feeling that Kara didn't deserve to be around those that did not trust her, he decided to let her be. Each to his or her own...  
  
Then came another headache. King Acorn (Princess Sally's father),  
  
struggling to reclaim the throne of Mobitropolis, seemingly lost his sanity (but that's not saying much) and declared a dismantling of all roboticized citizens. It was, of course, caused by Naugus. His plan (and life) was cancelled (permanently, I might add) by Sonic and the powerful Sword of Acorns.  
  
And as if things couldn't get any worse, a new enemy arose from the ashes of Robotnik's vaporized corpse. One in the form of the dreaded "Dr. Eggman"! Supposedly a robotic clone of the insane genius, Eggman proved to be a better and deadlier villain than his predecessor. For that, John prayed that the vile Eggman would come his way, and his life forfeit once he had run afoul of the former echidna bounty hunter.  
  
How little did John know that his prayers would be answered. And yet, not the way he wanted it...  
  
The setting couldn't have been better set for a disaster. The sky as dark as oil, lightning streaking about the sky, and the Floating Island hanging almost lifelessly in the air, unaware of the terror that was coming or the horrible events that would follow.  
  
"Ah, there it is, just as my predecessor had planned it would be." the vile Eggman said as he stroked his orange mustache. He sat at the control chair of the most destructive warship Robian and Swatbots had leaked oil and toiled to build: The Egg Carrier! At the moment, he was viewing the fabled Floating Island from the bridge. Eggman was dressed in a red military-issue overcoat, black pants and boots, and a pair of goggles on top of his head. His eyes...rather, his optic sensors seemed to be hidden behind a pair of reflective glasses in front of his eyes.  
  
He looked at the data from one vid-panel and aimed his right hand at it. Several green and black tubes flew from the fingertips and connected into the computer systems, downloading everything that the wicked Robotnik Mark Two wished to know about the Floating Island. Beastial and sentient life, possible defenses, known power sources, the works; all transferred from the mainframe into Eggman's brain.  
  
"So, let me see if I get this straight. You will help by leading one of these furry vermin on a wild goose chase while I set my plans in motion. Why are you turning against you're own kind?" Eggman asked of the only non-mechanical beings with him. Their true forms were hidden in shadow, the only thing Eggman could tell about them was that they were more furry vermin, those of which the original Robotnik hated with a passion.  
  
The one form in the middle, a female from the tone of her voice,  
  
replied, "The one I refer to is perhaps the most dangerous of all of them. I just wish to see him suffer like never before!"  
  
"Very well. But remember your part of the bargain well, or I shall roboticize you myself!" Eggman growled.  
  
With that, all three of the dark figures vanished from sight. Eggman chuckled, "But I shall roboticize you, anyway. Hmhmhmhehehehahahahahahahahahahahaaaa!"  
  
John was sleeping when it happened. As soon as he felt the wetness of the floor, he instinctively knew something was wrong. He immediately got on a comm and commanded, "Chaotix, status report!"  
  
Vector, John's crocodillian friend, nervously answered, "Something pretty bad's just gone down, John, m'man! The Floating Island...it ain't floating in the air no more!"  
  
John, not beleiving what he had just heard, asked, "How did this  
  
happen?"  
  
"Well, the playback's kinda fuzzy, but I think something or someone with a majorly bad attitude took out the ol' M.E." Vector answered.  
  
"Vector, please tell me this is a joke." John said. The M.E. the  
  
"master of smooth moves" was referring to was the Master Emerald, a Chaos Emerald that was as tall as Vector, as wide as a Swatplane, and was powerful enough to keep the Floating Island in the air and keep F.I.C.C. fully fueled for an unlimited amount of time. If the Master Emerald was destroyed as Vector was babbling about, it would spell doom for all of the citizens of the Floating Island.  
  
"Sorry, m'man, but I don't have a good punchline to follow it up." the crocodile apologized.  
  
John sighed for a moment, then said, "Very well. Any systems still active?"  
  
Vector scratched his head unconciously and replied, "All except  
  
communications, boss man."  
  
John nodded his head and ordered, "Get this place back on line.  
  
"You summoned me, your Majesty?" Dave asked of King Acorn.  
  
"As a matter of fact, I did, Master Dave." King Acorn replied, "As of last night, a terrible tragedy has just occured. The Floating Island, for some unknown reason, has fallen out of the sky and crash-landed close to the Mysterious Cat Country."  
  
"And I take it you want me to investigate?" he asked.  
  
The king nodded and said, "Correct. Take Sir Sonic with you."  
  
"Sire, with all due respect, Sonic is a bit a loose cannon. I feel that his prescence with me might cause some uncertainty where we'll be going." Dave replied.  
  
"Nonetheless, you have your orders." King Acorn said, "Leave  
  
immediately."  
  
"As you wish, sire." Dave said while bowing and leaving the royal court.  
  
Princess Sally stepped up to her father as Dave left and said, "Daddy, I just received a communique from the Floating Island."  
  
Dave, upon hearing that, hid behind the wall and listened very  
  
carefully. Sally then said, "The report reads that the Master Emerald, the powerful gem that has held the Floating Island aloft for so many centuries, has been shattered! The cause currently is not known, but the citizens are diverting all their resources to uncovering the cause."  
  
"Of course. John would not bear to lose his only true source of power." the king mocked.  
  
"I'd watch my tongue if I were you, especially if you wish to keep it in your mouth!" a harsh metallic voice said. Both king and daughter turned and saw the armored figure of John the Enforcer.  
  
"You! You have a lot of nerve sticking your face around where it's not wanted." Sally began to say...before she was paralyzed by one stare from the blue echidna.  
  
"Enough of this! What do you want?" King Acorn asked, trying to keep the situation from getting terribley hostile.  
  
"I want to deliver a message to you: Whatever's happening to the  
  
Floating Island is my business and no one else's. So keep your agents off my back, or they'll be coming back to you in long, wooden boxes! GOT IT?!" John snarled, while focusing his telekinetic powers to launch King Acorn at his throne.  
  
"And that goes double for you, princess!" the armored echidna growled while pointing a finger at her before launching her into a wall. The Enforcer then threw back his head and laughed maniacally as he began to teleport out of there.  
  
Dave immediately ran in as John vanished. He helped Sally to her feet while asking, "Are you alright, Sally?"  
  
"I'm fine, Master Dave. It's my father I'm worried about." Sally said as she ran over to where her father lay. He may have been a tough cookie to crumble, but he was very old and that counted heavily against him. "Daddy, are you okay?" she asked.  
  
"I'm alright, dearest, I'm alright." he panted. But that quickly gave way to a cold tone as he, through clenched teeth, said, "Atleast, I will be. Master Dave?"  
  
Dave, as he helped sturdy the king's balance, asked, "Yes, your  
  
Majesty?"  
  
"Spread the word throughout our world." he said, "As of a few moments ago, my daughter and I were victims of an unprovoked attack by the echidna known as John the Enforcer. I am offering a 30,000,000 Mobium reward for whomever brings him in alive or otherwise!"  
  
"Sire! With all due respect, sending people after John is like sending them into a Rhydon stampede. It's suicide! No one could possibley take on him and live to tell about it." Dave protested.  
  
King Acorn then suggested, "Unless, one is a Jedi. Dave, you and your young pupil have fought with John, and you both are still alive."  
  
Dave realized what King Acorn was getting at and said, "Oh, your  
  
Majesty, no. I've sensed John's fighting skill and powers. They have greatly improved since our last bout with him. He could be more difficult to defeat than ever."  
  
"How much are you offering?" a voice above them asked. They looked and saw Kenny the Vampire Bat staring back down at them from the celing. David's young Padawan learner then dropped down, did a flip, and landed on his tri-clawed feet.  
  
Dave gave him a dissapproving look and said, "Kenny, don't forget what I've taught you."  
  
Kenny's large ears drooped down in disapointment and said, "I know, I know. 'Jedi do not interest themselves in material wealth.' But Dave! Thirty million Mobiums! When in my young life will I ever see that kind of money?!"  
  
Dave glared at Kenny and said, "Kenny, we're Jedi Knights, not assasins or bounty hunters. The answer is still 'no'."  
  
"Then again, you could certainly use that kind of money for you and Bun-MMMPH!" Kenny started to say until Dave cupped his hand over his disciple's mouth.  
  
"We're going to have a little talk after we reach the Floating Island and deal with the situation there, young bat!" Dave whispered.  
  
Just then, Geoffrey St. John, the Mobian skunk and head of King Acorn's Secret Service, entered the throne room. "Your Majesty?" he asked while bowing.  
  
Kenny wrinkled his nose, and waved his hand in front of his face.  
  
"*WHEW!* Man, when was the last time ol' Stink-bottom took a bath?" he  
  
whispered to Dave.  
  
"Kenny!" Dave whispered back while slighly poking the young bat in the ribs, as a sign for his Padawan to show some respect.  
  
King Acorn asked, "Yes, St. John. What is it?"  
  
"Three individuals to see you, Sire." the skunk announced. Just then, those three individuals came in. One was a skinny-looking wolf in crimson-red body armor and a cape, the second was a big and brawny hyena with an amusing pair of pincnez resting on his snout, and the third was a dark-blue, lithe vixen.  
  
"Hubba, hubba!" Kenny said as he began to drool at the sight of the vixen, "Dave, will you look at her? What a babe!"  
  
Dave, however, pulled his young friend back and said, "Kenny, stay away from them. I'm sensing a great disturbance in the Force, and it's coming from them."  
  
"Even the girl?" Kenny asked.  
  
Dave nodded and added, "Besides, she's too old for you."  
  
"Damn!" Kenny silently cursed.  
  
"Now keep quiet. We need to find out what they're up to." Dave  
  
telepathically told him (by use of the Force).  
  
"Your Majesty." the vixen said while bowing before him. She noticed that her comapanions did not bow with her. She gave the sound of someone clearing their throat to talk, and then her buddies bowed down. She continued, "My associates and I were just passing by your palace when we overheard something about a reward on the capture or death of John the Enforcer. We would like to take up the offer."  
  
"And...your names?" Sally asked.  
  
"Oh, forgive me, your Highness. Our reputation sometimes begets my manners. I am Blue Fang and these are my partners, Sleet and Dingo." Blue Fang replied.  
  
"What kind of reputation do you have?" King Acorn asked, suspicious of their backgrounds.  
  
"We're bounty hunters, your Majesty; the most feared in the galaxy." Sleet replied.  
  
The squirrel monarch thought long and hard about this decision. Bounty hunting was outlawed during his time as ruler. But if the three rogues before him COULD bring in or eliminate the blue dreadlocked monster that so unreasonabley attacked him and his daughter...  
  
"Very well, bounty hunters. Bring John the Enforcer to face our justice or destroy him, and you shall be rewarded." King Acorn finally decreed.  
  
Blue Fang and her crew, satisfied, left the throne room. King Acorn called after them, "Just don't make me regret my hiring you."  
  
Blue Fang, once she and her two Luperian companions were out of earshot, chortled, "Maybe not, but you'll rue the day you ever came face-to-face with me, you old fool."  
  
Meanwhile, back on the Floating Island...  
  
"What the hell is THAT?!" John wondered as he went over the playback of the Master Emerald being shattered. Appearing out of the emerald was a strange being. It was nearly as tall as an adult echinda, had three odd backward-curving...things on the top and sides of its head, had a pair of long arms that ended in a three-fingered hand, and odd-looking legs that ended in two-toed feet. On top of its peculiar physical appearance, it had pair of yellow glowing eyes, practically translucent (bubbling?) skin, and its neon pink brain was hanging behind its eyes for the whole world to see.  
  
"Got me, boss echidna. I've never seen anything like it." Vector  
  
commented as he viewed the paused playback.  
  
"What's that pink ball of light that just came out?" Mighty asked. John used special computer enhancements for the playback to display a glowing pink orb emerging from the emerald AFTER the strange being came out.  
  
John shook his head and said, "I've searched through every file that either the computer or my brain holds and I still can't find anything pertaining to these two things."  
  
Charmy then suggested, "Why not go into the Echidnopolis records? They might have the info we need."  
  
"I'll consider that. Guys, maybe you should hear the latest news so you're not caught off guard by Sonic and the Free-dumb Fighters. For some odd-ball reason, King Acorn just placed a bounty on my head, for no reason whatsoever!" John said as he punched a few buttons.  
  
Vector shouted, "WHAT?! When did this happen, dude?"  
  
"Watch!" John said as he brought up a file onto the main screen, "One of my little spydroids captured this footage."  
  
It then displayed the image of John the Enforcer attacking King Acorn and Princess Sally while making his horrible threat. The Chaotix just stood there in awe.  
  
"Sir, whoever that imposter is, he isn't casting a shadow." Heavy pointed out.  
  
John made several enhancements in the image. "Well, I'll be a son of a Hutt." he muttered.  
  
Espio shook his head and said, "That still doesn't explain how that guy, whoever he is, is able to copy your powers, John."  
  
"Magic?" Charmy suggested.  
  
John looked at Charmy as if he had looked at the litte bee for the first time in his life. "Charmy, you're brilliant!" John said as he began pressing several buttons. He made several computer enhancements. The result, however, made John's face turn pale.  
  
"Oh, my God!" John muttered, "Not her! Not here!"  
  
"Wha...John, what's up?" Vector asked.  
  
Instead of answering, John ran to the armory.  
  
The Chaotix then glanced back at the image. It showed a lithe, dark blue vixen, accompanied by the ugliest looking brutes they had ever seen.  
  
"Who the hell is that?" Espio asked.  
  
Heavy thought, "Just great. So, she's returned. I think I better call in some extra help for this."  
  
Neon Dragon arrived at her make-shift home on the Floating Island. The front of her shirt was severely ripped where Knuckles had tried to stab her with the spikes on his fists. As it was, the Detrossian Dragon was in a very foul mood.  
  
She yawned a bit, making a slight roaring sound as she did. She didn't ask to be threatened by the Guardian of the Floating Island, but it seemed that Knuckles was developing more than his usual bad additude. For no reason whatsoever, the red echidna attacked her, demanding something about something she had done to the Master Emerald. It took about fifteen minutes of fighting and pleading to get it through to the Guardian's head that she knew nothing of what had happened to the Master Emerald. "What a miserable day." she bluntly  
  
growled.  
  
Neon had made her home at the Lava Reef Zone on the Floating Island. This was the only place where she could get a decent bath, the heat from the hot water springs fueled by the volcanic activity within this burning region of the Floating Island.  
  
She was about to remove her jeans-material vest when she heard footsteps behind her. Metal footsteps.  
  
"One of Robotnik's robots, no doubt." she snarled, "Well, this guy's gonna find out why I'm too hot to handle." She then made a fire ball in her left hand. There was no way that some robot was going to catch her off-guard in her lair.  
  
She quickly turned around...only to see Heavy the Mechanix robot staring back at her.  
  
"Geez, Heavy!" Neon said while extinguishing the flame building on her hand, "What are you trying to to do, get yourself fried?!"  
  
"That is highly unlikely, Madame Neon Dragon. After all, when I was built, I was given a Ditanium-Alloy outer casing, seeing as I was a valuable member of Robotnik's entourage. Anyway, it is good to see you again." Heavy said.  
  
"Good to see you again, too." she said with a smile, "So, what brings you here?"  
  
"Business, I'm afraid." Heavy answered.  
  
Neon cocked her head and asked, "What kind of business?"  
  
Heavy went on to explain the situation. Neon listened intently, then said, "Now, let me get this straight. You want me to be John's guardian angel as he pursues this Blue Fang character?"  
  
"That is correct." Heavy replied, "In return, you shall be rewarded profusely. Do we have an agreement?"  
  
Neon thought about this for a moment. On one hand, she had heard about John's wealth and she knew that any reward from the blue echidna would certainly be worth her while. On the other hand, she realized that she was up against some major bad asses, and with her fighting skills out of practice for a while, she was afraid that even her first bout with John's enemies would be her last.  
  
Atlast she decided, "What the hell. I've been getting pretty bored. Where can I find John now?"  
  
Heavy smiled. This was shaping out the way he had hoped. "Thank you, Neon. You won't regret this." he said as he handed her a tracker and explained that he had placed a tracking device on John's armor.  
  
Sonic and Dave raced each other across the Middle Mobian Sea to the site where the Floating Island touched down, with Kenny and Tails following close behind in the two-tailed fox's plane, "The Tornado". Sonic looked over to Dave and asked, "So, what do you think could have caused the island to fall into the ocean, Dave?"  
  
"I truly don't know, Sonic. But once we reach the shrine where the Master Emerald lies, I should be able to pick up on who or what was  
  
responsible." Dave replied.  
  
Sonic then suggested, "Do you think maybe HE did it?"  
  
"I seriously doubt that John would destroy the only means of keeping the Floating Island aloft. Even though there is the rivalry between him and Knuckles, I doubt that John would go so far as to disgrace the Guardian by blasting the Master Emerald while he slept." Dave told Sonic, "Alright, just another five minutes and we'll reach the shoreline of the Island."  
  
"I dunno, Dave. John's done crazier things in the past." Sonic thought, "There's no telling what's going on inside that blue dreadlocked head of his."  
  
Upon their arrival, they stopped and gazed at another part of the island in awe.  
  
"Manoman! Where did that come from?" Kenny asked as they saw the city of Echidnopolis.  
  
"From my island's past, little one." a voice behind them said. They turned and saw Knuckles facing them, his face even redder than usual.  
  
"Knuckles! King Acorn sent us to ascertain what's going on." Tails said quickly, feeling that if they explained why they were there, it would save them from the usual fights that went on between them and the island's Guardian.  
  
"What's going on?! I'll tell you what's going on!" Knuckles shouted angrily, "Something or someone just took out the Master Emerald while I was...standing guard ever so vigillently, and caused the Floating Island to become the Slowly-Sinking-Into-The-Sea Island! That's what's going on!"  
  
"Right." Kenny commented.  
  
Knuckles immediately narrowed his eyes and snarled, "I wouldn't be too surprised if that blue tech-rat's responsible for this!"  
  
Dave calmly stated, "Knuckles, you don't know that for certain."  
  
"Isn't it obvious?" Knuckles posed, "If anything, I'll wager that John shattered the Master Emerald to disgrace me in the family line of the Guardians. There's your motive in a nutshell, Jedi. Heck, I'll eat my socks if I'm proven wrong."  
  
Kenny, while waving his hand in front of Knuckles' face, suggested, "Why don't we have a look around while you search for the shards of the Master Emerald?"  
  
Knuckles gave the young vampire bat a dazed look, then said, "Tell you what. You guys go take a look around while I search for the shards of the Master Emerald." And with that, the Guardian took a running start and began glide away from the island.  
  
Dave chuckled a bit, patted Kenny on the back, and said, "Good work, Kenny. Your skills are improving."  
  
"Aaah, it was a cinch." Dave's padawan said while rubbing the back of his head with one hand, "I kind of figured that Knuckles was weak-minded."  
  
"Alright, let's split up. Sonic, you and Tails head to that city and take a look around. Kenny and I will scope out the Emerald Shrine and see what we can find." Dave planned.  
  
"Right. Catch you later!" Sonic called as he and his two-tailed  
  
companion took off in the direction of Echidnopolis.  
  
As the yellow hedgehog and his green bat compatriot went towards the shrine, Kenny asked, "What do you think we'll find when we get there, Master?"  
  
"We'll certainly see when we get there." Dave grimly replied.  
  
Tails looked on in complete surprise. The very city was populated with Echidnas! Of course, there were few other species mingling with the city's chief citizens. Koalas, dingoes, armadillos, hares, razorbacks, and a few reptillian species, but other than those mentioned, the dreadlocked monotremes seemed to reign supreme in the city. Tails also noticed a few Pokemobian species trying to mingle amongst the crowd. For the most part, the Pokemobians were accepted in the echidna city, unaffected by the prejudice of the world now surrounding the Floating Island.  
  
Suddenly, the two Freedom fighters were confronted by a red echidna in a spiffy uniform, the letters EST emblazed on his shoulderpads. "Hold it, you two!" he demanded in a gruff voice.  
  
"What? We didn't do anything wrong." Tails protested.  
  
"Just relax, kid." the echidna said while pulling out a slip of paper, "Have you two seen this individual?"  
  
The person in the picture was a green-eyed Golden Retriever Mobian, with a black headband, a black T-shirt, a blue over-jacket, and purple shoes. In a rather uncharacteristic fashion for a peace-loving species such as the person in the picture, the person's face was made into a criminal-like frown.  
  
"His name is NoOman Dog. He's wanted for desertion of the Echidnopolis Security Team, and for the assault and battery of several echidnas. He is often seen in the company of a talking Furret and a yellow Chao. Now, once again, have you seen this guy?" he asked.  
  
Both Freedom Fighters shook their heads.  
  
The echidna grumbled under his breath, then said, "Well, if you do see him, capture him and turn him in to the proper authorities. Okay, be on your way!"  
  
Once they were out of earshot, Tails said, "Sheesh! All that fuss over a deserter."  
  
"Well, Dave, anything?" Kenny called down to his Jedi teacher from the top of the shrine.  
  
"Hmm..." Dave hummed as he sat down in a meditative fashion.  
  
Kenny frowned and said, "Dave, 'hmm' is not much of an answer. What are you doing?"  
  
"I'm trying to receive some clairvoyance of what had occured here. I am speaking with all that surrounds me: the grass, the rocks, the pillars, the shrine, even the Master Emerald (what's left of it) itself for clues. The Jedi that instructed me taught me that the Force is all around us in every part of every world and every part of space." Dave stated as he got to his feet.  
  
"And?" Kenny asked, wanting to know what had shattered the Master Emerald.  
  
"There was a trio of beings here. One female, two males. All  
  
outlanders." Dave said as he looked about.  
  
"You mean...aliens?!" Kenny gasped.  
  
Dave looked at his Padawan and said, "Possibley."  
  
"Do you think it was those three dog-faced people we saw at the throne room earlier?" Kenny asked, suspiciously.  
  
"Maybe, maybe not." Dave said. When he got close to the Master  
  
Emerald, something began to stab at his mind like a knife. An image began to unfold before his eyes.  
  
It was dark to begin with, but then a pair of yellow-glowing eyes began to peer back at him. A head began to appear with those eyes, an oddly-shaped (watery?) head. Then the head of the thing began to change and morph into a beastly apparition that opened its elogated jaws and released a roar so deafening that Dave unleashed a scream of pure terror and anguish.  
  
"Master!" Kenny shouted as he ran to his teacher's side.  
  
"By the Force!" Dave muttered fearfully as he glanced towards  
  
Echidnopolis, "What have those fools unleashed?"  
  
As night fell on the Floating Island, Sonic and Tails raced about  
  
Echidnopolis, checking out the sights.  
  
"Oh, yeah! This place is happenin'!" Sonic shouted excitedly.  
  
Suddenly, there came the sound of police sirens below him.  
  
"What's up, Sonic?" Tails asked of his "big brother".  
  
"I dunno, Tails. Let's check it out." Sonic replied as he spin-dashed after the police vechicles. They followed the vehicles to the city's chief administrative building...and beheld a sight they would only imagine in their nightmares!  
  
"We have you surrounded!" Constable Remington, the EST's leading member, shouted through a megaphone, "Surrender immediately!"  
  
The thing of which the constable shouted at turned to face all of the echindas below, aiming their weapons at it. It regarded them with a cold intelligence, one of which they undoubtedly had never faced before. It made a strange, gutteral growl as it leaped down from the roof of the building to their level.  
  
"Lock on target, men." Remington commanded, "FIRE!"  
  
Shots filled the air. The Echidnopolis Security Team members fired round after round at the creature. To their horror, the creature did not even so much as flinch from the shots, the bullets they fired dripping and falling to the ground below it.  
  
"Our weapons are useless! RETREAT!" another echidna cried. The  
  
creature, sensing that victory was now its, extended its watery arms and clawed at the retreating monotremes. Those that were hit rolled about on the ground as if there were army ants crawling and ripping apart their skin, screaming unholy screams!  
  
That was when Sonic and Tails emerged into the scene. Tails looked upon the creature with great fear and asked, "S-S-S-S-S-Sonic, what is that thing?"  
  
Sonic surveyed the echidnas that were in such excruciating pain and replied, "I dunno, little buddy, but whatever happens, don't let it touch you."  
  
The creature noticed the two Freedom Fighters and charged at them like a cobra lunging at its prey! Both Freedom Fighters dodged to keep the creature from hitting them. Dave and Kenny ran into the scene. "What the hell is THAT?!" Kenny shouted when he saw the watery creature.  
  
"Just like my vision back at the Master Emerald." Dave muttered.  
  
The creature then extended its arms to grab Kenny and Dave. The  
  
hedgehog Jedi stepped to one side, activated his gold-bladed lightsaber and sliced through its arms. Kenny, who was right behind Dave before he dodged and hacked at the watery creature's arms, wound up getting his face drenched.  
  
"Water? This thing's made of water?" Kenny said in disbelief.  
  
"Water, huh?" Tails said, "In that case, maybe our Pokemon might take this thing down." Pokemon were wide-spread around Mobius, even the rarer ones. In fact, several Mobians took to power as Pokemon Gymleaders. Tails, Sonic, Dave and Kenny were among those Gymleaders, for their training skill surpassed many other Mobians. Tails was a master of Flying-type Pokemon, Sonic was a master of Pokemon that excelled in speed, and Dave and Kenny were practically  
  
Pokemon Masters, Dave's skills falling only a bit shorter than his young  
  
Padawan's.  
  
"Go, Jumpluff!" Tails commanded as he threw the Pokeball containing the Flying/Grass-type Pokemon, "Jumpluff, use SolarBeam!"  
  
"Juuuuump....luff." the Pokemon shouted, but ended in a disappointed tone.  
  
"WHOOPS! I forgot." Tails admitted sheepishly, "Solarbeam only works when the sun's out."  
  
The others fainted in embarassment.  
  
"Well, I guess it's up to you, little guy. Go, Charger!" Dave shouted as he sent out the Pokeball that held his Raichu, "Charger, Thunderbolt, now!"  
  
"RAAAAAICHUUUUU!" the "Mouse" Pokemon bellowed as it unleashed the powerful Thunderbolt attack. The watery beast unleashed an unearthy screeching noise and began to snake its way into the sewers of Echidnopolis.  
  
"Hey, we'll play with you some other time!" Sonic said while striking a pose.  
  
The others just stared on at Sonic.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?" Kenny asked.  
  
"Uh...striking a heroic pose?" Sonic replied.  
  
Kenny then said, "If you do that again, I'll have to smack you."  
  
High above them, way out of earshot, a familiar figure was laughing his fool head off. "You know nothing, fools! That was Chaos, the god of DESTRUCTION! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" he laughed maniacally.  
  
"What are your orders, Lord Robotnik?" two mechanical-sounding voices said behind him. He turned and saw Metal Sonic and Metal Knuckles (a robotic version of the Floating Island's Guardian) floating in the air with the use of their repulsors.  
  
"The Pokemon those...vermin hold will greatly upset my plans. Relieve them of their Pokemon and have the creatures Moboticized." Robotnik ordered, "And as for their owners, KILL THEM!"  
  
"As you command, Lord Robotnik!" both robots said...before flying right into each other and then flying off in their own directions. True, they were not Robotnik's brightest creations, but they were deathly loyal to the bloated tyrant.  
  
Little did Robotnik know that he was being watched from atop the highest building in Echidnopolis...by the Enforcer!  
  
"Well, well, well. So, ol' fatboy's up to his old tricks again." John mused as he viewed Robotnik through his armor's visor, "Hmm...Well, I found Robotnik. Where's Blue Fang?"  
  
John then deactivated his armor. Truth be known, his gliding was more well achieved when he was out of his armor. But as he leaped off of the building and began to glide in Robotnik's direction, a laser blast hit him across his dreadlocks! With his dreadlocks singed, the best John could do at the moment was atleast look for someplace safe to land. When he got closer to the side of a building, he dug his claws into the concrete wall. Then, he activated the monacle on the left side of his glasses and tried to pinpoint the origin of those blasts. Suddenly, another blast hit the side of the building and caused John to lose his footing. The blue echidna fell all the way to the concrete ground!   
  
"Thank goodness I've got all those thick...booonesssssss."  
  
John moaned as he fell into unconciousness. Unfortunately for John, he couldn't have picked a worse time to lose conciousness, for then, Blue Fang and her Luperian buddies were standing right over him.  
  
"Not bad shooting, Sleet." Blue Fang complimented.  
  
"So...uh...what do we do with him now?" Dingo asked.  
  
Sleet slapped his partner in the back of the head and shouted, "If you actually paid attention instead of biting your back for fleas, you would have heard Blue Fang's plans for our blue, dreadlocked rival, you moron!"  
  
All of a sudden, an echidna opened the window of his apartment room and shouted, "Keep it down! I'm trying to get some rest, for crying out loud!"  
  
"Oh, you'll get your rest, alright." Sleet said as he aimed his blaster, "Your ETERNAL rest."  
  
The echidna hit the floor of his apartment, with a shot wound in the throat.  
  
"And now, to work, gentlemen. I have such a deplorable spell to cast upon him..." Blue Fang chortled as she and her compatriots drew nearer to the unconcious echidna...  
  
"Sally, I highly forbid this action. Dave, Sonic and the others are already on the Floating Island. They can handle this." King Acorn protested as Sally began to pack some survival gear into a blue backpack.  
  
"Daddy, in a situation like this, it is calm, cool-headed mentality that prevails instead of hot-headed brutality. Besides, I think it would do the guys good to have me there. It would prove to them that I will not allow them to do something that I wouldn't do myself. Julayla taught me this." she replied.  
  
The monarch fumed for a moment, then said, "Very well. But at least have Bunnie and St. John with you."  
  
Sally gulped. Geoffrey St. John and Sonic were not good friends as there was a horrid feud between them over her affections. And besides that, the skunk was a bitter enemy of John the Enforcer. "Father, having Geoffrey with me might be more of a hazard than a help. You know how much both Sonic and John hate his guts." Sally said.  
  
King Acorn shook his head then said, "Nonetheless, I atleast want A member of my royal vanguarde going with you. For your protection."  
  
Sally threw up her hands in frustration and said, "Alright. Fine. But don't blame me if Bunnie and I bring back his corpse."  
  
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Sonic and friends." a sinister voice snickered. Sonic, Dave, Tails, and Kenny looked up and saw Dr. Robotnik at the pilot's seat of his signature round ship.  
  
Sonic mockingly gasped and said, "Look out, everyone. We're about to be attacked by a giant talking egg!" All four Mobians burst into laughter.  
  
Robotnik growled for a moment then shouted, "SILENCE! I am Dr.  
  
Robotnik, the greatest scientific genius in the world!"  
  
"Yeah, whatever, bot-butt!" Kenny laughed.  
  
"ENOUGH!" Robotnik roared, "I know one of you fools has a chaos emerald  
  
on you. Surrender it or else!"  
  
Immediately, Dave stopped laughing and said, "Or else, what?"  
  
"I will rip the emerald from your burning corpses!" Robotnik retorted as his one-man vehicle converted into something with two drills on the sides. The Egg Hornet!  
  
"Do you expect to impress us?" Dave asked.  
  
"Oh no, my dear boy." Robotnik chortled, "I expect you to hold still, frozen with fear, and to die!!!" With that, Robotnik fired numerous missles at the gathered Freedom Fighters.  
  
Dave and Sonic split up to dodge the missles. Tails and Kenny took to the air. Kenny, however, was not quick enough. An explosion from one of the missles lanched him into the air and sent him crashing down into the ground.  
  
"Kenny!" Dave shouted. The young Vampire Bat tried to get up, only to collapse back down on the ground. Angrily, Dave activated his lightsaber, leaped at the Egg Hornet, and chopped at the drills.  
  
"Hey! Get off, you little pest!" Robotnik shouted will trying to push Dave off. Dave turned and sliced at Robotnik's mid-section. The bloated tyrant, however, did not scream in pain. Instead, numerous wires came out and repaired the damage Dave had wrought upon him.  
  
"You'll pay for this, you quill-backed vermin!" Robotnik shouted as he pulled out a weapon that Dave did not easily identify. The Force, however, guided Dave off of the Egg Hornet just as Robotnik fired and wound up damaging his own vehicle's motor controls.  
  
Robotnik's mustache drooped down when he realized what he had just done. "Oh, poop!" he muttered as the drills of the Egg Hornet bursted off and sent his vehicle crashing to the ground.  
  
"I knew I'd beat you. The Force told me so!" Dave shouted triumphantly while striking a pose with his lightsaber.  
  
Kenny, who had recovered during the fight, glared at his teacher/friend, and shouted, "Don't you start!"  
  
"That wasn't too bad." Tails said, heading towards Sonic to give him a high-five.  
  
"GOTCHA!" Robotnik proclaimed as a mechanical arm reached into Tail's backpack and removed the chaos emerald that he was saving as a spare for the Tornado, "Well, well, well! It is one of the seven mystical chaos emeralds! Chaos could use a little snack!"  
  
Kenny raised one eyebrow and asked, "Chaos? What kind of bozo runs around with a name like that?"  
  
The answer to Kenny's question dripped out from the bottom of Robotnik's one-man ship, slurped out to form a puddle next to the bloated fiend, and took the form of the being in question.  
  
"Awe, geez! Not that thing again!" Sonic shouted.  
  
Robotnik grinned as maniacally as a villain could manage as he tossed the chaos emerald towards Chaos. The fabled jewel made a slight ripple in Chaos's "skin" and then caused one of his arms to increase in size and show bones in it. Not only that, but in one part of the hand was the emerald!  
  
Suddenly, Chaos became unbalanced and collapsed into a puddle.  
  
A sweatdrop appeared on Robotnik's head. "Um...". Noticing that Sonic and his friends were looking on, he quickly turned and said, "It's...just as the stone tablets predicted! Hear me now, Sonic! Chaos's power increases everytime I feed a Chaos Emerald to him. Soon, when he reaches full power, he will be powerful enough to level anything I direct him at, starting with Echidnopolis! Come, Chaos! Let us find some more emeralds, shall we?"  
  
Robotnik then dashed something to the ground in front of him that  
  
emitted a bright flash. Once Sonic and the others were able to see past the flash, they saw that Robotnik and Chaos were gone.  
  
Dave grimly frowned as he said, "So. Our task has now been set before us.  
  
John regained conciousness. His vision was a bit blurred, though. He blinked a couple of times and that did the trick of returning his sight to its usual 20/20.  
  
"Oooh, my achin' back." he moaned, "Where the hell am I?"  
  
Wherever he was, he was in a lying-down position. As his sight further improved, he found that he was in some sort of hotel bedroom, under the covers of a bed.  
  
"More importantly, how the hell did I get here?" John wondered in  
  
silence.  
  
Just then, a hotel servant entered the room. She, a red-skinned  
  
echidna, was dressed in the usual uniform: short skirt, standard vest and shirt combination, and high-heel shoes. She noticed that John was awakening and said, "Oh. Good afternoon, sir. Enjoying your stay so far?"  
  
John got out of the bed and demanded, "How did I get here?"  
  
"Excuse me?" she asked, confused.  
  
Then the young female watched as John's eyes began to glow. She felt it. John was now in her mind, probing at her memories to find what he needed to know. She dropped the towels she was bringing into the room and held her head as she collapsed to the ground.  
  
John's frown turned into a toothy grimace. She did not have the  
  
information he needed to know.  
  
"Then, tell me where I am." he demanded.  
  
"You're at the Casinopolis Resort." she said as she tried to gather up the towels she dropped and make a run for it.  
  
"Now that just leaves one question unanswered...How?" John thought to himself. He went into the bathroom of his room and tried to get in a shower. But as he removed his tanktop, he took notice of something on his face. It was a kiss mark.  
  
"Where the hell did this come from?!" John wondered. He then remembered a horrible memory: Blue Fang and her two goons, whoever they were, slowly approaching him.  
  
"THAT SICK BITCH KISSED ME!" John thought in utter disgust. He then grabbed a washclothe and tried to wipe the kiss mark off of him. At that, he was successful. But he was still stung by the fact that another female kissed him! It left him with an overwhelming feeling of guilt, trying to honor his relationship to his true love. How he wished he could see her fair face again...  
  
No. Duty comes first, he felt. Once Mobius was at peace, then he would return to Chandral...and his bride-to-be...  
  
He donned his armor and forgot about his shower. He would bathe himself after he caused Blue Fang's blood to spill...  
  
Sally, Geoffrey, and Bunnie entered the Casinopolis resort as night fell once again upon the Floating Island. They felt that they needed this temporary home-away-from-home to act as their base of operations while looking into the crisis that was afflicting the unnatural Mobian marvel.  
  
A Poliwhirl Pokemobian came up to the three freedom fighters and said, "Welcome to the Casinopolis resort. How may we help you?"  
  
Sally, although she was not totally completely prejudiced towards  
  
Pokemobians, secretly resented the appearance of the moboticized beings and wished she did not even have to deal with the genetic abominations that now shared her home world. She calmly smiled and said, "We need to rent three rooms."  
  
"Okay. Duration of stay?" the Poliwhirl asked as he walked over to a desk and pulled up a computer for hotel room registrations.  
  
"Um...it might be for quite a while." she replied while wrinkling her nose. There seemed to be a bit of an odd smell that was drifting from the frog-like Pokemobian and whatever it was stunk like a Gloom's defensive stench.  
  
The Poliwhirl shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, but my manager says that I must have an approximate number of days, weeks, etc. Resort regulations, you see."  
  
Geoffrey immediately went on the offensive. He grabbed the Pokemobian by the collar of his uniform and snarled, "Now look, freak job! This happens to be Princess Sally of the House of Acorn you're addressing. Do you dare deny service to royalty?!"  
  
The Poliwhirl started shaking like an Ekans with a seizure and  
  
apologized, "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that neither I or any other of the hotel staff makes exceptions. Please, I only work here."  
  
"What seems to be the trouble here?" a brown skinned echidna asked as he approached the desk where Sally and the others were.  
  
"Mr. Trenton! I was only following regulations that you instructed me to follow. I swear, I was only doing my job, and then this maniac attacked me." the Poliwhirl explained.  
  
"Sir, do I have to call security and have you removed?" the brown  
  
echidna said while going for the blaster at his side. As he was the manager, he had to preserve certain rights around his resort, including his own life.  
  
"That's not necessary." Sally said, getting between Geoffrey and Mr. Trenton, "I am Princess Sally Alicia Acorn, daughter of King Maximillian Acorn. My friends and I were only trying to book three rooms here when this little altercation..."  
  
Sally did not finish her explanation. A bit of blaster fire nearly caught her in the leg!  
  
"Your Highness! Get down!" Geoffrey shouted as he charged and got Sally to take cover.  
  
The Poliwhirl ran from the desk, crying, "That's it! I don't get paid enough to risk my life. I'm outta here!"  
  
Bunnie aimed her roboticized arm upwards, where she saw the blast come from. The fingers of her mechanical arm bent backwards, a gun nozzle emerging from the palm of her hand.  
  
All of a sudden, the power went out. The red-shaded emergency lights came on. Many of the high-stakes gamblers hid under the tables or ran for the exits of the resort, not wanting to get caught up in something that they had no intention of getting involved in.  
  
Geoffrey put in a cartridge of arrows into his wrist-mounted crossbow and started aiming in every which direction. He then urged Sally to get behind the desk for cover.  
  
Bunnie saw it. A distortion of some sort was making its way down from one of the resort elevators and ran towards them like a malevolent mist. She fired a shot at the distortion. It harmlessly bounced off of it. She fired another shot, this time more powerful than the last. It caused the distortion to reel a bit from the blast, but it did not stop it from approaching.  
  
"This should stop you." she muttered as he made the pulse cannon in her arm charge up to its maximum level. Bunnie then fired a blast that was as tall as her and as wide as a Snorlax. It caught the distortion and blasted it back towards one of the slot machines.  
  
"Nice shot, love. Now it's my turn!" Geoffrey said as he fired several arrows at the odd distortion. To his dismay, the arrows bounced off, making a distinctive ringing sound as they made impact.  
  
"There's only one kind of metal that makes that kind of sound when hit, and that's Ditanium-Alloy. But it can't be. The only being on Mobius with that kind of metal on him is...oh my God!" Geoffrey realized in a startled tone of voice, "The Enforcer! It's the Enforcer!"  
  
The distortion then disappated, revealing the armored form of the  
  
echidna in question. His red eyes were glowing even brighter than the emergancy lights. That meant that John was utterly pissed off!  
  
Geoffrey fired for all he was worth, trying to hit at a gap between the armor. No such luck, however, for John coated his entire suit of armor in Ditanium-Alloy, meaning that there was no gaps nor weak spots in the armor.  
  
John charged at Geoffrey and smacked him aside, growling, "Get out of my way!" The blow sent the skunk flying across the room and into a card table. John had only used enough force to knock Geoffrey out, not break his bones (which he was capable of when using the armor's full strength).  
  
Bunnie, obligated to protect Sally, fired again and again at John. Even though she knew her blasts would do nothing against John's armor, the least she could do was hold John off until help arrived. Somehow, she sensed that Dave and his friends were close, and she knew that they stood a better chance against the metallic monstrosity that was walking in the direction of the desk which Sally was hiding behind.  
  
She powered up one more blast to full power and tried to blast the Enforcer back like she did when he was cloaked. She fired. Much to her horror, John smacked the blast away from him!  
  
Now the partially-roboticized rabbit was  
  
out of options. She knew that she would wind up more than a sore loser if she fought John hand-to-hand. Her own roboticized limbs would be no match for John's Ditanium-Alloy armor. "Oh, Sugah-hog, get here soon." she whimpered as John came closer.  
  
For some reason, the armored echidna just shoved her aside with enough force to knock her to the ground. She knew instinctively that he was more interested in going after Sally. But as Bunnie got up and tried to run towards the desk where John was headed, one of his dreadlocks aimed her and fired an ion blast. She fell to the ground, her roboticized legs rendered useless by the ion blast. She couldn't even move her arm. The ion shot did its work in shutting down her mechanical limbs.  
  
John lifted the desk above his head then tossed it aside. Sally was cringing at the sight of the echidna standing menacingly before her. "Get up."  
  
John snarled at her. When she didn't, he raked his claws across her right cheek and roared, "I said GET UP!"  
  
"Why are you doing this?!" she shouted at him.  
  
Almost as if he ignored what she said, he wrapped his dreadlocks around her neck, arms, and legs, growling, "Thought you could get away from me, didn't you? Thought you'd get away with kissing me, didn't you?"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Sally asked as he tried to force the Enforcer's dreadlocks off of her neck.  
  
"Don't play dumb with me!" John yelled as he tightned the grip of the dreadlock around her throat, "Now, I'm gonna finish what I started on Chandral."  
  
Sally cried out. John was getting dangerously close to squeezing the very life out of her...  
  
"JOHN! LET GO OF HER!" a voice angrily yelled. Then, John was hit in his right side by Sonic, who was curled up into a ball and performing a spin attack on him. Sonic hit John hard enough to send him crashing into a wall. He then bent down to help Sally, who was choking a bit as a result of John's dreadlocks attempting to crush her.  
  
Dave, angry at John, shouted, "John, you monster! How dare you harm Sally?!"  
  
"Sally?" John asked as he got himself out of the wall, "Open your eyes, spike rats! That isn't Sally! That's..." John stopped. He shook his head four times, then looked again.  
  
After that, John muttered, "Oh my God. What have I done?"  
  
"You've harmed Sally, that's what you've done, and I won't rest until you're punished!" Sonic said through clenched teeth, "Kenny, Tails! Get him!"  
  
John was much quicker to act. He ran to an elevator shaft and began climbing upward towards the glass roof with Tails and Kenny in hot pursuit. But as Tails got within a yard of John, he fired a net launcher and sent Tails falling towards the ground. Kenny swooped down and caught Tails just before he hit the ground.  
  
"Gotcha! You okay, Tails?" Kenny asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'm just peachy. But John's getting away!" Tails said as he pointed upwards through the net. John was right at the glass celing above the casino. He unleashed a load roar of anguish and caused the glass to shatter into dust!  
  
"Don't worry about it. We'll get him next time." Kenny said as he watched John crawl along the celing and escaped to the rooftops.  
  
"Kenny, why didn't you stop John?!" Sonic said as he came over towards the two fliers.  
  
Kenny frowned and said, "Gee, excuse me for saving Tails before he became floor pizza!"  
  
Dave came over towards them and said, "Stop it, both of you. This isn't helping anything."  
  
"I don't get it." Tails said as Kenny used his lightsaber and cut the net open, "Why is John acting like this?"  
  
"I don't know, Tails. There's no telling what's going on inside that murderous mind of his. But I'm gonna make him pay for what he did to Sally!" Sonic vowed.  
  
Dave put his hand on Sonic's shoulder and said, "Wait a minute, Sonic. Blind hatred is not going to get us anywhere with this. Besides, we have more important concerns. Why did John say that Sally wasn't herself? That just doesn't make any sense. And his actions...there's just no logic to it."  
  
"I have one explanation." Kenny said while making a circling motion with his index finger pointed towards his head, "John's finally flipped his lid."  
  
"I know John better than that, Kenny." Dave said as went over to help Bunnie to her feet, "He doesn't just flip out like that. He relies more on logic, reason, and planning his moves carefully. Blatant attack and destruction just isn't his style."  
  
"Then again, how long HAVE we known John?" Kenny posed, "The guy's been away from Mobius for some time. Being away from your home world does have that kind of affect on you."  
  
Dave's face turned serious for a moment and he said, "Well, let us not make any more idle speculations or accusations towards John until we know the truth."  
  
John sat on the edge of a building, completely grief-stricken. How could he have made such an error? He hit his head repeatedly. "How? How? HOOOOOOOOOOOOOW?!" John roared in frustration, filling the island air with his angered cry.  
  
Never before had John made such a mistake distinguishing between  
  
civilian and prey. He had to look into how he could've made such an mistake or otherwise, countless others would suffer at his hands, even if by accident.  
  
"Blue Fang." John calculated silently, "She must have put some spell on me. She's making me see the Freedom Fighters as my enemies. And the attack on Sally...Blue Fang is having me target specific members, those of great importance to Mobius."  
  
John came to a horrifying conclusion- Blue Fang was trying to liberate Mobius of its strongest or most skilled fighters, leaving nothing to oppose her!  
  
John activated the jet boosters in his armor's feet and on his back. The hunt had to continue...spell or no spell...  
  
"And before he started strangling me, he said something about finishing what he started on Chand...something. With that voice coming out of his armor, it sounded garbled and messed-up." Sally explained. Morning had once again dawned upon Echidnopolis. Sally was in a hotel room explaining what had happened last night.  
  
"Finishing what he started on Chand-something?" Kenny asked, "What kind of threat is that?"  
  
Dave, who was meditating and seeking the Force for guidance, answered, "It's possible he's referring to Chandral, our next-planet neighbor. Perhaps, during his bounty hunting career, he had some business there."  
  
"Making a fortune in blood money, no doubt." Sally said with a frown, "Do you realize what this does to our world's reputation? Sooner or later, an army from some other world will be sent here to find John and kill him, turning our world into a war zone ten times over!"  
  
"I sure hope it doesn't come to that, Sally-girl." Bunnie said, trying to bring some optimism to this dire situation.  
  
"Where do we go from here, your Highness?" Dave asked.  
  
"I don't know, Dave. I just don't know." Sally said while shaking her head, "Well, we should have it thought out as soon as Sonic and Tails return."  
  
Kenny frowned and asked, "Where are those two, anyway? They should have been back by now with some morning grub."  
  
Suddenly, there came a knocking at the door. Kenny activated his  
  
lightsabers, just in case. Sally went to the door and asked, "Who is it?"  
  
"Room service. You going to open up or what?" a gruff female voice answered.  
  
But as Sally opened the door, she gasped. Standing at the door was a female, humanoid dragon...holding Sonic and Tails in her scaly hands.  
  
"Sonic! Tails!" Sally shouted, "What did you do to them?"  
  
"Brought them up here, it looks like. You want to give me hand here? The blue one feels pretty heavy!" the dragon replied.  
  
After Sonic and Tails were laid down on the hotel room's beds, Sally angrily turned to the dragon and shouted, "One more time, what did you do to them?"  
  
"I found them like this outside of the hotel. They were out cold. Gassed, it looked like." the dragon replied, "By the way, the name's Neon Dragon."  
  
"I know who you are." Sally snapped coldly, "You are one of Robotnik's elite soldiers."  
  
"Correction. I WAS one of Robotnik's elite soldiers." Neon replied. But seeing as the Mobian princess would be hard to be convinced otherwise, she threw up her scaly hands for a moment and said, "Well, I'm just wasting my time amongst you paranoid, delusional furballs. I have much more urgent business to attend to."  
  
"That being?" Bunnie asked.  
  
"Keeping an eye on John the Enforcer and watching his back." she replied before leaving the room.  
  
Sally turned to Dave and asked, "Well?"  
  
Dave got up from his meditative position and answered, "She's legit, Sally. She was telling the truth."  
  
Sally, a bit angry because of how Sonic and Tails were treated, snapped, "WHY? BECAUSE SHE SAID SO?"  
  
"No." Dave said calmly, "Because the Force told me so".  
  
"Well, we're wasting our time just standing around here. We've a tyrant to stop from ruling the world...and a bounty hunter to hunt down and bring to justice." Sally stated, "Let's move, people!"  
  
2 hours later...  
  
They stood at the top of a snow-covered peak in the region of the  
  
Floating Island known as the Ice Cap Zone.  
  
"Now, remember. We are to stay in constant radio contact with each other. Considering how we've been attacked by Robotnik and the Enforcer alike, I suggest we use extreme caution as we try to find the next Chaos Emerald." Sally stated.  
  
Sonic, impatiently stamping his foot, said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. C'mon! Let's get going already!"  
  
Sally turned to Sonic and, with a caring look, said, "Just be careful Sonic, okay?"  
  
"Hey, I'm always careful." Sonic said while giving his lady love a hug.  
  
"I'll go check out the bottom of the hill." Bunnie said. The bottom of her roboticized feet then extended into skis and she started to slide down the  
  
mountain side.  
  
Kenny turned to Dave and mischieviously asked, "Is that what's known as a ski Bunnie?"  
  
Dave promptly slapped Kenny.  
  
"Geez. Take a joke for once in your life." Kenny mumbled.  
  
Dave looked about, saying, "We should all be very cautious. This is the perfect place for an ambush."  
  
If only Dave knew how right he was. As Bunnie went down the hill, she had no idea that she was being watched off to the side of the slope. Watched...by the Enforcer!  
  
"Wonder where she's going in such a hurry?" John snarled. With that, he turned to his armor and commanded, "Armor: Swoop Bike Mode."  
  
The armor changed in shape until it turned into a Swoop Bike. John then donned the helmet, and pressed a few buttons on his wristwatch. Nanites began to emerge from the watch and started to cover his body until they unified and formed a seemingly "leather" bodysuit that covered just about every part of John's body. He made this option for the sake of keeping his identity secret  
  
when he was out of his armor.  
  
He hopped aboard. "This time, no foul-ups!" he thought as he cocked a heavy blaster and strapped it to his back.  
  
Further up the mountain, two robots were busy setting explosives. Those robots were Metal Sonic and Metal Knuckles. Well, actually, Metal Sonic was watching the Freedom Fighters below them while Metal Knuckles placed the explosives.  
  
"Is everything in readiness?" Metal Sonic asked impatiently of his robotic compatriot.  
  
Metal Knuckles gave the mechanical equivalent of an aggravated growl and snapped, "Must you keep asking that?! I have only two more explosives left, but I am unsure where to put them where they will be the most effective."  
  
With a metallic-sounding roar of frustration, Metal Sonic ripped the two final explosives from his partner, attatched them to his partner's head, pulled out the detonator and psychotically snapped, "HERE'S WHERE THEY'LL BE MORE EFFECTIVE!" He pushed the button on the detonator.  
  
Too late, the metallic doppleganger of Sonic realized his mistake, for then, it activated all the explosives.  
  
"Oh, poop." he muttered.  
  
While the explosions didn't do much to harm Metal Sonic, the ensuing avalanche practically buried the two robots and went on a threatening stampede of snow and ice down the mountainside...in the general direction of Sonic and his friends!  
  
"WHOA!" Sonic shouted. The first impulse he had was to lift Sally into his arms and began to run down the mountain at high speed to get her out of harm's way. For him, that was no problem.  
  
Dave turned to Kenny and Tails and commanded, "Fly down to the base of the mountain and warn Bunnie of the avalanche."  
  
"What about you?" Kenny asked of his Jedi teacher.  
  
"I'll be okay. Now go!" Dave said with a confident smile.  
  
With a worried look, the two fliers took to the air.  
  
Dave stared at the on-coming avalanche, not flinching even in the least. He raised his hands. A wall of solid rock erupted from the ground and blocked the deadly flow of snow and ice. To the Mobian Jedi's relief, it held.  
  
Dave then heard a beeping. He turned to his wrist-mounted communicator and replied, "Dave here."  
  
"Awe man, you will not believe what a relief it is to hear your voice, Dave." Kenny said proudly over the communicator.  
  
Dave smiled, and replied, "I'm fine. What's up?"  
  
Kenny's next words sent a chill down Dave's spines, "You better come down to the base of the mountain, ol' buddy. B-B-B-Bunnie...she's...she's...frozen over."  
  
Dave grimaced at this news. He cared a great deal about Bunnie and to hear this...this really went straight to his heart.  
  
"Um...Dave? You still there?" Kenny asked.  
  
"Not for long. I'm coming down from the top of the mountain." he said.  
  
Once Dave reached the bottom, his heart sank even further. There Bunnie was, the ice encasing her like demented food wrapping, her face frozen with fear. Sonic was pounding at the ice.  
  
"Stand back, Sonic." Dave warned. As the blue hedgehog did so, Dave charged at the icy block, whipped out his lightsaber, and made several slashes in the ice at certain points.  
  
Sonic took a look at where Dave struck the ice and commented, "Dave, there's no way the ice is going to break with where you hit it." But then, the ice shattered, releasing Bunnie from her cold prison.  
  
Dave coldly turned towards Sonic and said, "Never underestimate the power of the Force."  
  
He turned to Bunnie. She was shivering violently, going down on her knees and bracing her arms across her chest in a considerabley futile method of producing warmth. Her winter jacket was not more than 5 feet away, ripped to shreds!  
  
Dave removed his winter jacket and put it on Bunnie, asking, "Hey, are you alright?"  
  
She looked up at him and sobbed, "Sugah-hog! The Enforcer! He beat me to the Chaos Emerald! Then he...he...froze me! I'm so sorry, Sugah-hog!"  
  
Dave held her close to him and said, "Oh, Bunnie, it wasn't your fault. None of us expected the Enforcer to be here. But I will avenge you for this."  
  
"You hear me, Enforcer?! If I ever catch up to you, I'll carve out your cold heart and crush it in my hand!!!" he roared.  
  
Not too far away, John was repeatedly hitting a boulder in utter anger. "SHE DID IT AGAIN! SHE TRICKED ME!!!" John yelled. It was true. Blue Fang had tricked John again. This time, it was by having target Bunnie. Now, John knew he was in real trouble. It didn't take anyone with more IQ than a pig-faced Gammorean to figure that out. Bunnie happened to be a dear friend of Dave the Hedgehog, a Jedi Knight who defeated John while he was still amongst the Freedom Fighters. And for John to do what he did to Bunnie...it spelled doom for him.  
  
"You've been pretty busy, haven't you?" a female voice behind him  
  
commented. John quickly wheeled toward the person, pulling out two blasters as he did...only to face Neon Dragon!  
  
"DAMN IT! ARE YOU TRYING TO GET YOURSELF KILLED?!" he shouted at her while holstering his blasters. Heavy had told John about Neon Dragon, how she deserted Robotnik. That made her somewhat of an ally, but since John never really met her until now, it gave him just cause not to trust her.  
  
Neon let out a contemptuous sniff and said, "You couldn't kill me with those pea-shooters, anyway. We Detrossians are blessed with heat-resistant skin. Plainly speaking, your blasters wouldn't have had any effect, no matter what setting you put them to."  
  
"Lucky you." John said, "Now why are you following me?"  
  
"Heavy hired me to keep an eye on you." she answered.  
  
John chuckled for a moment and said, "Good ol' Heavy. Always lookin' out for me." His face then turned serious and he snapped, "Now get out of here! At the moment, I don't need a bodyguard."  
  
"On the contrary, I think you're gonna need all the help you can get, you blue rat!" a harsh voice growled while slugging John across the face. It was Knuckles!!!  
  
"That...will be your final mistake, Knuckles!" John roared as he got back up on his feet and faced the red echidna Guardian.  
  
"Let's finish this, you red-rimmed nerd!" Knuckles snarled at him.  
  
"Ladies first." John mockingly muttered at him.  
  
Both echidnas hurled themselves at each other, and prepared to beat the living daylights out of each other.  
  
Dave and the others appeared on the scene. Neon, not wanting to get mixed up with the Jedi Hedgehog and his friends, ducked behind the very boulder John was beating on. She would watch the battle from her slight vantage point and get ready to haul John's bruised blue butt out of the area.  
  
Kenny looked on at the building dust cloud kicked up by the two echidnas and asked, "Um...did we miss something here?"  
  
Over the sounds of punches and kicks, Knuckles was heard shouting, "Give me that piece of the Master Emerald before I really have to go medieval on you!"  
  
Dave, however, knew what exactly what John was holding. It was a Chaos Emerald!  
  
Sonic charged into the fray, declaring, "I'm going to put a stop to this before it gets worse."  
  
But as Sonic got closer, he and John were dealt a fearsome blow from Knuckles, a blow that released their Chaos Emeralds from their hands. "Oh no! The Chaos Emeralds!" Sonic shouted.  
  
Appearing right out of nowhere came Robotnik, chortling, "And now, they're mine! All mine!"  
  
He snatched the powerful gems and held them triumphantly in both of his hands. Knuckles looked on. His red face turned pale, realizing his mistake. "Th-that's a Chaos Emerald, not a shard!" he cried in surprise.  
  
"And thanks to you, my red dreadlocked friend, it's in my hands!"  
  
Robotnik laughed.  
  
"Way to go, knucklehead!" John snapped at him.  
  
"Heeheehee! Four lovely emeralds to none! Things are looking in my favor!" Robotnik sneered, "Chaaaaaaoooosss!"  
  
A puddle surged next to the fat fool and took the form of the watery beast. This time, his left arm matched his right, with bones and a gray emerald in the wrist.  
  
"Here! Eat up!" Robotnik laughed as he tossed the blue and green  
  
emeralds into Chaos 2. In a bright flash, Chaos took on a shark-like form, with a razor-like tail and his arms ending in sharp claws.  
  
"Hmph! That doesn't scare me! I'll make him eat dirt!" Knuckles  
  
chuckled as he pursued Chaos 4 into a nearby lagoon. Sonic and Tails followed the red echidna, feeling he would need some assistance.  
  
John, however, awoke from his unconciousness and saw the gathered crowd of Freedom Fighters. Fearing that Blue Fang's spell might affect him again, he decided to slink away from the battle...where he bumped into Neon Dragon.  
  
"Hey, watch where you're...oh, it's you!" Neon said.  
  
"I have to get out of here." John told her in a low and hurried voice, "I'm a hazard to them. I'm a hazard to everyone!"  
  
Neon looked at him and asked, "What the hell are you talking about?"  
  
"Don't you get it?!" John yelled at her, "An enemy of mine has placed a spell on me, forcing me to look upon my friends as my enemies. I can't risk anymore lives being harmed because of me!"  
  
"What about those who deserve it, like Robotnik?" she snapped at him, "If you're just going to run away from your problems, they'll only grow stronger, knowing that you'll just back away like a coward! If you're not going to fight them, then I will!"  
  
With that, Neon spread out her wings and took flight, flying in the direction of Robotnik's hovering vehicle.  
  
John thought carefully about her words...just as he heard an agonized scream! He looked and saw Robotnik seizing an unconcious Neon in his vechicle's tractor beam. That hurt John as well, feeling that through his inaction, an innocent was being put at risk.  
  
"Well, well, well. I didn't think I'd see you again." Robotnik  
  
chuckled, "You'll make an excellent addition to my growing army of robots."  
  
"NOOOOOO!" John yelled as he charged out from behind the boulder.  
  
"Get away from me, you fool!" the bloated villain growled as he blasted John back with a laser beam. The blue echidna rolled a couple of times before sprawling out over the ground.  
  
"Hmph. So much for him." Robotnik thought. He turned the blaster cannon of his vechicle on the other Freedom Fighters and sneered, "Anyone else want to try something stupid like that blue rat?"  
  
Suddenly, a growling was heard. He looked and saw a frightening sight!  
  
John was up on his feet, his teeth clenched with hate and looking quite pissed off. But that was not what Robotnik was looking at and cowering. At the center of John's pupils, there was a glowing dot...glowing red like the eyes of the Enforcer!  
  
John's claws popped out of his fists. "You're going down, fat man, and I mean crash and BURN!" John roared as he ran towards Robotnik in the maddest fury any being had ever seen.  
  
Robotnik activated a force field to block out the enraged echidna. It managed to hold John off as he savagely pounded at the force field with his claws. John even hurled an electric burst at the shields, only to have it bounce back at him. Then, in a roar of pure rage, John put his hands to his head.  
  
Dave knew what John was going to do. John was about to use his ultimate move, "The Mental Lightning Attack"!!!  
  
"Everyone, RUN LIKE HELL!" Kenny shouted as he noticed John focusing his energy for the attack.  
  
Robotnik merely brought up the shields for his vehicle.  
  
With the very unholy roar that would forever haunt Dave's memories, John deployed the deadly attack. The enchanced synaptic electricity scorched the ground and destroyed practically everything else it touched. When it hit the shields on Robotnik's vehicle, however, it only blasted his vehicle backwards into the mountain wall behind him. One of the stray bolts arched down into the nearby lagoon and delivered a horrible shock to Chaos 4!  
  
After one whole minute, the attack subsided.  
  
"Now to seize that echidna and make him a part of my army." Robotnik thought with a grin as he brought his vehicle about...only to find a pile of dirt.  
  
"Whaaaaat?!" Robotnik shouted. "I thought my predecessor left me with the information that he becomes weak after he uses that attack...ah, the Chaos Emerald he had on his armor. He must have drawn power from it and used it to escape. Well, no matter. Once these furry fools see what I have in store, they'll think twice before they cross paths with me!" he thought to himself.  
  
The air began to rumble. A dark shadow, an immense one at that, was thrown over the Freedom Fighters. An enormous warship hovered over the area, throwing its shadow down upon those gathered like hawk viewing its prey.  
  
"Behold my floating masterpiece: The Egg Carrier!!! Of course, its power pales in comparison to that of Chaos, but nonetheless it will be effective in my take-over of Mobius! Adieu, until we meet again, my friends! Hahahahahahahahahahaha!" Robotnik rambled...just as a green tractor beam focused on him and the unconciousness Detrossian and beamed them both up to the massive warship. The vehicle then departed to the east.  
  
John sensed what had happened. He cursed himself repeatedly for  
  
allowing Neon to fall into Robotnik's clutches. Now, there was only one thing for him to do: rescue Neon and eliminate Robotnik once and for all!  
  
Dave looked up and said to Kenny, "We have to take that vehicle down before any civilians are harmed. All of Mobius is depending on us."  
  
"And Bunnie, I've noticed." Kenny said slyly.  
  
Dave turned towards Kenny slowly, his face showing the serious signs of being annoyed by his "little brother's" antics. A sweatdrop appeared on Kenny's ear. "Um...I'm going to shut up now." he said.  
  
Dave coldly replied, "Good bat."  
  
John overheard what the bat and hedgehog were planning. If they  
  
destroyed the Egg Carrier, it would take the unfortunate Neon with it. True, John had his own concerns at the moment, like hunting down the villainous Blue Fang, but as an innocent's life was hanging in the balance, he had to prevent the Jedi from doing what they were up to. And decided to do it the best way that he knew how.  
  
He popped out of the ground and slammed his spurs into them, injecting his paralyzing venom.  
  
"What the...?!" Knuckles shouted in surprise...just as John rushed at him and did the same to him!  
  
"Back off!" John shouted at them, "Robotnik's my prey!" With that, he ran behind a rocky wall. As Sally and Bunnie pursued him, they found that he disappeared!!!  
  
She turned to Sonic and said, "Sonic, you and Tails get to the Tornado and go after Robotnik! We'll take care of our Jedi friends."  
  
John was on his way down a Zoom Tube, a specially designed transport leading from the surface of the Floating Island to his base. It was much like an elevator, except it was much faster!  
  
Once he had reached the base, the Chaotix stood to attention. Vector said, "Boss in the base! TEEEEEN-HUT!"  
  
John grinned for a moment and said, "Alright guys, listen up! The fat man's got a airborne war-vehicle called the Egg Carrier as well as a hostage! So far, I've taken down the heavier hitters amoungst the Freedom Fighters (temporarily, of course) and that should buy me enough time to atleast get myself into the air, rescue the hostage, and destroy Robotnik's air carrier before it has a chance to do some serious damage. Any questions or comments?"  
  
Espio gulped.  
  
John turned to Espio and asked, "Do we have a problem, Espio?"  
  
Espio replied, "The Docking Bay is flooded. Right to the point where Heavy had to build an airlock."  
  
"Lovely!" John thought in his aggravation. "Okay, guys. When you get the chance, try to empty the Docking Bay of water and get the main hangar door water-tight. You get me?"  
  
The Chaotix replied, "WE GET YOU, SIR!"  
  
With that, John clapped his hands and said, "Alright! Let's get to it!"  
  
"How's Dave?" Bunnie asked, nervously standing over her dear friend's still body.  
  
The yellow hedgehog blinked, smiled and said, "Never felt better, fair Bunnie." Kenny also got up and yawned.  
  
Sally, wide-eyed, shook her head and said, "No way. John injected enough venom into you two to kill you! How is it possible?!"  
  
"Dave and I worked on a special antidote to counter John's venom. We injected it into ourselves before John came out of the ground." Kenny explained.  
  
Dave looked in the direction of an explosion from the ocean closeby. They watched as John's ship came out of the water and followed in the direction of Robotnik's Egg Carrier. "Blast it!" Dave cursed, "If I know John, he's going to take down Sonic and Tails before they have a chance to score even one hit on the Egg Carrier. C'mon, Kenny! Let's get to the Gust and get up there before our guys get toasted!"  
  
"All systems are nominal for our assault on Robotnik's ship, sir." Heavy reported.  
  
John grinned, "Thanks, Heavy. It'll be just like old times again, won't it?"  
  
"It certainly will be, as long as you don't underestimate Robotnik." Heavy said, "Just don't daydream at the helm, okay?"  
  
"Heavy, you worry too much." John laughed. Deep down, he had to accept Heavy's words. Robotnik was just too cagey and too tricky to take lightly. Even if the one he was facing was nothing more but a programmed shell, he had to be cautious. There was no telling what devious tricks it had up its sleeves.  
  
A beeping came from the ShadowHunter's radar. "Egg Carrier found, sir. Estimated time of visual confirmation: three-point-six minutes." Heavy reported.  
  
John then ordered, "Heavy, switch controls to manual. I want to work the bugs out of the system, considering it's been a while since I've piloted the ShadowHunter."  
  
"Yes, sir" Heavy replied. Then Heavy reported, "Sir, the radar is registering numerous, unidentified objects swarming around the Egg Carrier. No life signatures found."  
  
"Drone fighter ships." John muttered, "This is going to be interesting."  
  
Tails looked from the pilot's chair of the Tornado and saw the immense battle cruiser ahead. It sent a few chills down his spine, but he managed to get himself back under control. He needed to. One mistake in the battle ahead would be very fatal. Sonic looked down at his two-tailed friend and asked, "Tails, are you okay?"  
  
"Hmm? Oh. Yeah, I'm fine, Sonic. Just pre-battle jitters, that's all." he replied with a slight sweatdrop falling on one side of his furry head.  
  
"Well, get ready, Tails. We're goin' in." Sonic excitedly shouted.  
  
"Hmmm...the vermin seem to have achieved air power. How annoying!" Robotnik muttered, "Attention, all fighters! Converge upon the furry pestilence! Eradicate them!"  
  
"Let me go, you unintelligent heaps of junk!" Neon Dragon shouted at the two E-100 robots that were restraining her struggles.  
  
"Ah, so glad you could join me, my dear friend. How long has it been? Two...three years?" Robotnik chortled.  
  
"Long enough to see the evil of your ways!" she snapped.  
  
Robotnik fumed for a moment then said, "You served me once, Neon. Serve me again, and I shall spare your life."  
  
Neon spit in Robotnik's face. "I would rather die then serve a lunatic like you!" she said in full defience.  
  
"Take her away!" Robotnik ordered as he wiped the spit from his goggles, "I'll deal with her later." The E-100's saluted Robotnik and marched the unfortunare Detrossian to the prison cells.  
  
An explosion rocked the Egg Carrier! The ShadowHunter flew right past the bridge of the ship. "Autoguns, OPEN FIRE! Destory those pests!" Robotnik screamed at the comms.  
  
"Autoguns not responding. Possibley, they've been destroyed, Dr.  
  
Robotnik." the Egg Carrier's computer replied.  
  
Robotnik slammed on the controls. "Blast it all! Blast it...eh?" he bellowed until he noticed a button near his fist. He grinned. "This should finish these fools off!" he thought as he pressed it...  
  
John was the first to see it. As he strafed the Egg Carrier with  
  
blaster cannon shots, he watched the "nose" of the Egg Carrier. It opened up like a pair of demon's hands that were clasped together, revealing what certainly looked like a very large energy cannon!  
  
"Damn it! Talk about your lousy timing!" John cursed, for right in front of the canon's firing path was the Tornado!!!  
  
Heavy looked at John, felt a boost in speed from the ShadowHunter. "Sir, what are you doing?!" Heavy shouted.  
  
"Even thought I hate to admit it, Sonic is the last hope this planet has. All of Mobius looks up to him, not me." John said as he pushed the ShadowHunter to a position...in front of the energy cannon!!!  
  
"Sir! This is madness! If that thing fires, we're done for!" the Mechanix drone shouted.  
  
Suddenly, there was a loud boom at the back of the ship as the cannon's beam was fired, hitting the ShadowHunter and knocking it out of the sky. However, the blast went on and hit the Tornado's wing, sending Sonic and Tails into a spiraling fall!  
  
The ShadowHunter, on the other paw was sent down to the Floating Island, in what certainly would result in a fatal crash...  
  
"No!" Neon gasped as she watched the ShadowHunter and the Tornado fall out of the sky. This was not a good sign. Not at all.  
  
She heard the clanging of doors and watched as Robotnik, as well as Blue Fang, Sleet and Dingo, entered the prison. "Enjoying the fireworks?" Robotnik chortled, "I'm glad we could put on such a show."  
  
Blue Fang turned to Robotnik and said, "You know, there is still a possibility he survived. If that ship is coated with the same metal as his armor, there's a chance he still remains among the living."  
  
"Well, I'm sure you'll see to that, won't you?" Robotnik said with a wicked grin.  
  
"Count on it. Come!" Blue Fang said as she signaled to her Luperian comrades.  
  
Robotnik then turned to Neon and said, "Enjoy your stay. You're going to be here for a very long time. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" He then left Neon.  
  
The Detrossian Dragon hurled a fireball at the bars to vent her  
  
frustration, only to glumly watch it fizzle out. "Flame resistent bars. Lovely!" she commented.  
  
"NO! Please, I beg of ya! Spare me!" John heard a voice cry out on while he was in Mos Espa. He turned and saw Aldar Beedo, the Glymphid "Hit Man" aiming a blaster at an old Bozarr.  
  
The Bozarr were a reptillain race that resembled bipedal frilled lizards with four arms ending in four-fingered hands and eye-stalks ending with the most pitiful looking eyes in the galaxy. Their race was a peaceful and friendly one, willing to make friends with just about everyone. They were also master mechanics, and they spoke Basic like old westerners.  
  
"My employersssssssss paid me a great deal of wupuipui to csssseassssse your exssssisssstincssssssssse. I do not intend to disssssssappoint them." Aldar Beedo hissed as he cocked his blaster and prepared to fire at the wimpering Bozarr. John, feeling a sense of justice surging up from the bowls of his cold-hearted self, approached the situation.  
  
A laser shot obliterated Aldar Beedo's weapon! The Glymphid turned to face the Enforcer. "Get lost, scumbag!" he snarled, "Picking on an innocent sentient? That's shameless!"  
  
"I don't who you are, freakjob, but you've made a terrible  
  
missssssstake! Anyone who hasssssssss crosssssed me hasssssssss  
  
perisssssssshed. Do you have any idea who you're messsssssing with?!" Aldar Beedo growled.  
  
"Yeah. A dead man, if you don't beat it!" John challenged while firing at Beedo's feet.  
  
"Nexssssst time we meet, it will be your lasssssssst!" Aldar Beedo snapped as he beat a hasty retreat.  
  
The Bozarr looked up from his cringing position and said, "Hey, he's gone! Oh, how cn'I thank you enough!"  
  
"Tell you what. Maybe some food will calm your nerves. My treat." John offered after he removed his helmet.  
  
They feasted at a local cantina. The Bozarr introduced himself as Gor-dann-zac Ticazbe, a master mechanic and spy. He established a life debt with John the Enforcer, offering his services of both of his professions. John considered the idea of this. Since John had gotten Aldar Beedo off this old Bozarr's tail, the Glymphid assassin would target him for interfering. That would certainly leave this poor Bozarr alone, he felt, and after all, in a galaxy that hated and feared him, it would be good to atleast have one friend...  
  
"Sir! Sir, please, say something!" Heavy shouted as he shook his  
  
master.  
  
John slowly opened his silvery-blue eyes. "Heavy?"  
  
"Thank my work on this ship, you're alive! Maybe there is hope for free, sentient thought in the universe." Heavy praised.  
  
John clutched his head. "Heavy, damage report."  
  
"You want the good news or the bad news?" Heavy asked.  
  
"Good news first." John requested.  
  
Heavy rapped on the armored hull and said, "Fortunately, the  
  
ShadowHunter's hull integrity held together, just as I planned it would. Communications, shields, life support, and weapon systems are still fully operational."  
  
"And the bad news?" John asked, wincing at the thought of any bad news.  
  
Heavy replied, "The engine was badly damaged during the blast. I can repair it, but it will take time and Bomb's added assistance. The Chaos Emerald that powered the ship looked like it was going to explode, absorbing the blast damage that it did. So, I took the liberty of ejecting the ship's core, which contained the emerald, to keep it from blowing us up from the inside. You can trace the emerald's signature with the enhancements I've made with your armored  
  
suit. Good hunting, sir."  
  
"Right!" John said as he left the ship.  
  
As he left the airlock, he checked the outside of the ShadowHunter. Surprisingly, there was only the signs of the blast's damage on the paint job, but nonetheless, the ship held together. The ShadowHunter, the ship that took him through his time as a merciless bounty hunter and assassin...it was still in one piece. With a smile beneath his armor, he left to follow the signal of the ShadowHunter's core.  
  
"I only pray that the ship will hold out long enough for me to return to Chandral...to my love..." John thought.  
  
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the screaming of a female. Remembering his time on Chandral, when he had chosen to save Neela from the Taekwraiths, he followed the calls to its source. What he saw was a desparate scene.  
  
A blue fox was holding close to her body a seemingly unconcious golden retriever. Along with them was a Furret with blue markings on its face and a yellow Chao with orange webbed feet. And standing over them was perhaps the most menacing looking being John had ever seen. A...pantheroo, he belived the being was called. It was holding a knife.  
  
John understood the situation. He was dealing with insane mental case.  
  
He leaped into the scene, between the gathered innocents and the  
  
pantheroo. He got a look at his target's face. He had the most psychotic look he had ever seen on any being before.  
  
"Whooooo aaaare youuuuuuu?" the pantheroo questioned in a deep and echoing voice.  
  
"The name's Enforcer. Know my name. It'll be the last one you ever hear." John remarked, replying within his armor.  
  
For a moment, the pantheroo didn't reply. Then, he laughed. "Iiiiii'm Seeeeeebaaaastiaaan."  
  
"No wonder you're so crabby." John joked.  
  
"Crabby?CRABBY?!Notmenotmenotmenotmenotme!! HAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Sebastian laughed maniacally as his voice began to sound high-pitched and hurried.  
  
"Man, this guy is messed up!" John thought, "Let's see what's going on inside that crazy head of yours." The armored echidna focussed his mental energy to probe the pantheroo's mind, hopefully to undermine any psychological advantage he would have against this psychopath.  
  
However, he found Sebastian's mind was nothing but a jumbled, twisted mass, filled with every possible vile desire John would find in the mind of a crazy person. It was so intense, it gave John a migrane!!!  
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGH!" John screamed as he thrashed about in a confused rampage. He pulled out his blaster. All he would have to do is pull the trigger and water the forest ground with this maniac's blood!  
  
But...where did he go?  
  
John looked up. A pair of black feet slammed down on his head. "BWA HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAAA! Toooo freeesh iiiin the tiiiiin caaaaan?" Sebastian laughed as he leaped into the cover of the trees.  
  
"Why don't you face me like a man, you psychotic freak?!" John roared at the pantheroo. With that, John deactivated his armor. Obviously, this lunatic was pursuading him to fight fair. No armor.  
  
John started to climb up the tree where he saw Sebastian leap up...only to be taken by surprise from behind him. The pantheroo slashed at John's back with his claws and his knife.  
  
"Soooooft skiiiiin!" Sebastian taunted as he landed on the ground and leaped towards the gathered civilians.  
  
"Oh no, you don't!" John growled as he jumped off of the tree, began to glide and tackled the pantheroo in the back with a downward slash with his fist-claws.  
  
Sebastian clutched his wounds and said, "Youuuuuuu huuuuuurt  
  
meeeeeeeee!"  
  
"There's more where that came from, psycho boy!" John muttered as he seized Sebastian's head and delivered a powerful electric shock...only to find that it had no effect. The pantheroo grinned and slashed at John's chest.  
  
"THAT DOES IT!!!!" John roared as he then aimed his hands at Sebastian and blasted him away with a beam of psychokinetic energy. It launched the psychopath away from the forest. John then heard a distant splash of water. Sebastian was gone...for now. He took in several sharp breaths of air, allowed himself to heal his wounds and then went to check on the innocents.  
  
"Hey, you guys okay?" he asked.  
  
The blue fox looked up at him with her green eyes and said, "All except my friend here. He was almost dead when we caught up with him. Do you think you can help him?"  
  
"Well, I'll see what I can do." John said as he approached the golden retriever, "Say, I didn't catch any of your names."  
  
"We don't need to tell you nothin', blue boy!" the Furret shouted at him contemptuously...in plain English, no less.  
  
"Tachiguy, he's trying to help us!" the blue furred and haired fox said, "My name is Scribbles Moonshadow. These two little rapscallions are Tachiguy the Ootachi and ChowChow."  
  
"Have you taken your STUPIDO pills or somethin'?! He's an echidna! More than that, he's a bounty hunter! He could turn us all in for a reward!" Tachiguy scolded.  
  
"Relax, Pokemon. I have heard about you guys from Echidnopolis.  
  
Deserters from the EST, if I've heard right. Don't worry. The bounty they're offering is...small, pathetic! Hardly worth my taking." John said while healed the golden retriever.  
  
The golden retriever coughed a few times and asked, "Wha...What  
  
happened? Sebastian...?"  
  
"Relax, buddy. I sent him packing." John laughed, "He certainly won't bug you guys again."  
  
The dog held out his hand and said, "Well, thanks a lot. Name's NoOman Dog."  
  
"John the Enforcer." the blue echidna replied as they shook hands. He then felt something on his leg. He looked and saw ChowChow rubbing his head against his leg while giving out a high-pitched equivalent of a purr.  
  
"Well, look at that. I've never seen ChowChow warm up to strangers so quickly." NoOman chuckled, bemused by his Chao's antics.  
  
"Well, I've gotta get going. Maybe we'll see each other again." John said as he turned to leave.  
  
"Maybe." NoOman said with a smile of relief, "So long, and thank you  
  
very much!"  
  
John smiled as he donned his armor once again. Sometimes, it was the little deeds that would certainly pay off in the future...  
  
"Hey! Drop the linen and start the grinnin'! There it is!" John said as he finally found the ejected core. His smile, however, quickly faded as he noticed that other beings had found the core and were trying to remove the Chaos Emerald. Overlanders!  
  
"How about that, Jones? Those stupid animals practically left this thing here for us to find!" a blonde haired overlander laughed as they used a cutting torch on the core.  
  
"Yeah! High Command will certainly reward us for find this little gem." Jones, a red-haired human, chortled.  
  
"You're not going anywhere with that, bipedal scum!" John telepathically snarled.  
  
"Hey! Who said that?!" Jones said as he pulled out his laser weapon.  
  
Suddenly, something tackled a female member of the group and hauled her into the bushes. Her strangled cries were then silenced by the breaking of her spine.  
  
Another member was brought down by a missle that caught him in the chest.  
  
A couple of overlanders panicked and attempted to make a run for it, only to be cut in half by a pair of red lightsaber blades.  
  
It was then down to Jones and his second-in-command. "What the hell is it? What the hell's going on here, Jones?!" the blond haired overlander whimpered.  
  
"SHUT UP!" Jones shouted...just as he got speared in the chest by John's armored dreadlocks.  
  
"Filthy humans!" John growled as his dreadlocks ripped Jones apart.  
  
"No! NOOOOOO!" the second-in-command screamed as he fired, only to find that his blasts were harmless bouncing off the ditanium-alloy armor plating.  
  
With that, John grabbed the overlander by the throat, forced his mouth open, and shoved an activated grenade into it. Then he used the enhanced strength of the armor and flung the humanoid away from the island. For extra measure, John fired several rounds of heat-seeking missles from his armor at the overlander. The explosions he heard was music to his earholes.  
  
"And now, to take this back to where it belongs." John said as he heaved up the core and took it back to the ShadowHunter...unaware of an orange rock that opened it's eyes. It was Dingo!  
  
"Dingo to Blue Fang. The Enforcer's alive! He just killed a bunch of overlanders." he reported into a communicator.  
  
"To hell with those humans! We've more important matters to attend to. Head back to our position." Blue Fang ordered over the comm.  
  
"Right! Dingo out!" Dingo replied. He then sprouted a pair of arms and began to amble back to Blue Fang...only to be confronted by a love-struck Geodude!  
  
"Geooooo!" the Geodude lovingly cooed as it started kissing Dingo's left hand.  
  
"Hey! Get away from me, ya weirdo!" Dingo snarled as he slapped the Rock/Ground-type aside...  
  
Sonic and Dave met up with each other back at Echidnopolis. Sonic became worried when he found that Tails was not with them. With that, Dave sent Kenny to find the two-tailed fox. But as the two hedgehogs searched, a very unpleasant sound was heard.  
  
"Hey, Sonic! Wait up!" a sickeningly familiar voice called.  
  
"Oh no! Not Amy Rose!" Sonic moaned.  
  
Amy Rose was a little pink hedgehog girl who followed Sonic around constantly. She thought of herself as Sonic's numero uno fan and more than that, his girlfriend! She was wearing a red dress, a pair of red boots, a small hair band and white gloves. She had no backquils, but her hair was spiking downwards, giving her the ridiculous image of an echidna with her dreadlocks cut short. In her company was a small bird with a locket of some sort.  
  
"Long time, no see, Sonic!" she cheerfully cried.  
  
Dave laughed as Sonic tried to back away from the female hedgehog.  
  
Amy noticed Sonic's behavior, got a bit upset and said, "What's your problem, anyway?"  
  
"Let's see. How 'bout...you!" Sonic thought bitterly.  
  
Amy held up the little bird and explained, "Look, Sonic. This little birdy's in big trouble. One of Robotnik's henchbots was after it. I need you to be its bodyguard for a while."  
  
"You've gotta be kidding me!!!" Sonic erupted. Dave, unable to contain it any longer, fell on the ground and laughed himself silly.  
  
"That's okay. I'll just follow you, anyway." she happily said.  
  
"Uh-huh! NO WAY!" Sonic said as he took off in a blur, leaving Amy in the dust.  
  
"Hey! Don't run away! Oooooooooh!!!" Amy cried in disappointment. Dave, however, continued to laugh his ass off at Sonic's reaction. Amy then turned on Dave.  
  
"Well, unless you want to guard Birdy here..." she said cunningly.  
  
Dave stopped laughing...and ran like hell. "Sonic! Wait up! The  
  
devil's after me!" he shouted.  
  
Amy watched in complete shock for a couple of seconds, then angrily yelled, "You jerks! Come back here!"  
  
Eventually, Amy caught up to the two hedgehogs. "C'mon, you guys! You know I can't run as fast as you!"  
  
Suddenly, a large metal hand seized Amy around the waist. She was then pulled away from the two hedgehogs and towards one of Robotnik's meanest robots: the Zero Unit! It was basically a prototype for the E-100 series as it had a targeting laser on one side of its head. With added armor, extending grabbers and relentless programming, it proved that it would not give up so easily on hunting down whomever it was sent after.  
  
"Man! She wasn't kidding when she said one of Eggman's robots was after her." Sonic gasped.  
  
"Well, of course, I wasn't!" Amy shouted, "Let me down, bolt brain!"  
  
The Zero unit did not reply...but it began to hover away from Dave and Sonic, heading into the wilds of the Floating Island.  
  
"Must we?" Sonic groaned at Dave.  
  
"Yes. She is a civillian and as such, that warrants our protection." Dave said.  
  
Sonic shook her head and said, "Man, I really don't want to do this. That girl is such a pain!"  
  
With that, the two hedgehogs took off in pursuit of the robot and its captive...  
  
John heard the screaming of the little pink hedgehog, but in his haste to repair the ShadowHunter and deliver Mobius' revenge upon Dr. Robotnik, he paid no heed. He knew who was screaming and knew she was nothing but trouble, especially to Sonic. Once or twice in Knothole, she mistook him for Sonic, which nearly had him lose the circulation of blood to his head. He personally vowed that if she ever crossed paths with him ever again, it would be end of her. So for now, he wanted to avoid her.  
  
But as he turned back to his work on his ship, his thoughts were  
  
interrupted by the electric hum of a lightsaber behind him. Three lightsabers, for that matter. He turned and saw Dave and Kenny behind him, aiming their blades at him.  
  
"If you gentlemen are selling, I'm not interested." John commented as pulled out his double-bladed lightsaber, "I've got my own!"  
  
"Where the hell do you keep getting these types of lightsabers?!" Kenny asked as John activated the twin blades.  
  
"I built the earlier ones. This one, I killed a Sith Lord for it." John answered.  
  
Dave and Kenny gave him the kind of look that would warrant fear.  
  
"Alright! It was a Gand gunrunner who just happened to have a taste in ancient weaponry, okay?!" John said as he deactivated his blades, "Damn! I just can't hide anything from you Jedi, can I?"  
  
"You're hiding more than you think, John. We know you're not here to kick Robotnik's keester out of pity for us." Kenny commented as he and his teacher put away their weapons.  
  
"At that, you're right." John said as he put his lightsaber away, "I've a promise to keep to an ol' friend of mine. And I promised that Robotnik would die at MY hands."  
  
"Then join us instead of attacking us!" Dave said.  
  
"Those attacks...they were not intentional." John admitted, "Robotnik's got help from an enemy I faced in one particular bounty hunt."  
  
"That's gotta be bull, Dave. The dreadlocker's lying to us!" Kenny snapped.  
  
Dave turned to Kenny and said, "Let's hear him out and ascertain the truth."  
  
John sighed and said, "This particular enemy is a bad mother. She's using black magic to decieve you, King Acorn, and me. She's trying to turn all of us against each other."  
  
"It's the vixen, isn't it?" Dave asked.  
  
"How do you know?" John asked back, startled that Dave would know.  
  
Dave replied, "She came before King Acorn with a couple of goons. They were offering to take up King Acorn's bounty on your head."  
  
"What kind of goons?" the blue echidna asked.  
  
"A grey, scraggly wolf and a big, muscular hyena. They looked like Luperians." Kenny answered.  
  
Upon hearing that information, John burst into fits of laughter. Kenny looked at his teacher quizzically, then asked, "John, is this a private joke or are you going to tell us so we can have a good laugh together?"  
  
"Blue Fang has no idea what a mistake she's made hiring those two  
  
bunglers!" John laughed, "As far as bounty hunters go, Sleet and Dingo are a joke! Hell, they're the funniest losers in the entire galaxy. And now, the ol' psycho-bitch has hired them!"  
  
"As much as we'd like to laugh it up with you, Robotnik's got two  
  
hostages now." Dave said.  
  
"The hedgehog girl, Amy?" John asked, "Let Robotnik roboticize her. She'll be less of a pain to Sonic."  
  
"John, I don't know what's made you such a heartless asshole, but I suggest, for the sake of whatever kind of soul lurks in that cold-hearted body of yours, that you get your act together and help us! You've seen what were up against. It's like you're turning your back on us!" Kenny said, trying to convince John.  
  
John stopped fixing the ship for a moment.  
  
"Do you think I got through to him?" Kenny asked Dave.  
  
"I don't know." Dave said as he and his young padawan learner turned to leave, "Well, take care of yourself, John. That's what your good at!"  
  
"Fools. The whole lot of them. I know what I'M up against. I just want you fools to stay out of my way." John muttered as he hammered at one of the engines.  
  
Neon heard the sound of Robotnik's footsteps as he entered the prison. She snorted at the sight of him and snarled, "Get lost, you rotund psychopath."  
  
"Now now, Neon. I know you've been angry and worst of all, lonely. But luckily, your good friend Dr. Robotnik has decided to end your loneliness." the bloated tyrant chortled.  
  
"Well, if you're gonna kill me, then do me a favor: Just shut up and do it!" she snapped.  
  
Robotnik shook his head and grinned maniacally as he said, "Oh no, nothing too drastic. You're just going to have a little...company.  
  
Heheheheheheheheh."  
  
"Unhand me, you garbage heaps!" a high-pitched, whiny female voice shouted as two E-100's brought her roughly into a holding cell.  
  
Neon, knowing who had just been dragged in, backed away from Robotnik, slowly saying in horror, "You...are...mad!!!"  
  
"Only if you manage to resist Amy Rose's prescense, which you'll be sharing until you pledge your loyalty to me again. Zeta! Epsilon! Come!" Robotnik ordered. With total obedience, the two robots followed their master as they left the brig.  
  
"NOOO!" Neon shouted, "Don't leave me alone with HER, you maniac!!!  
  
A couple of days later...  
  
"There it is! The Egg Carrier, dead ahead!" Tails shouted triumphantly as he piloted his new plane, "The Tornado 2".  
  
Sonic was poised behind Tails, who was in the pilot's chair. Kenny and Dave were following close behind them on board "The Gust", a far more high-tech looking plane.  
  
Kenny noticed that his friend was looking back at the Floating Island and asked, "Hey, Dave! What's wrong?"  
  
"I just thought John would change his mind and actually help us. Even though he doesn't show it, the flame of true justice does burn bright in him, even if that's buried deep within that horrid shell." Dave commented.  
  
Kenny merely shrugged and said, "Well, if he wants to be a jerk, let him. He's got his own path to follow."  
  
Dave smiled and rubbed his young padawan's head. "Well spoken, Kenny. You may be a Jedi yet." Dave complimented.  
  
"Oh, great!" Sonic snapped over the radio, "Yo, guys! Ro-butt-nik's rebuilt the defenses on the Egg Carrier and we've got company!!!"  
  
"Fighters! There must be thousands of them!" Kenny observed.  
  
"Don't sweat it, guys! Those things are all guns and no brains!" Tails laughed, "We'll be on our way to the Egg Carrier in no time."  
  
Dave advised, "Remember, guys, don't get cocky!"  
  
As the dog-fight ensued, many of the gun turrets and fighters were wiped out as both the Tornado 2 and the Gust made several passes around the Egg-Carrier. "Now, to deal with that big blaster Robotnik's got on this ship." Kenny commented.  
  
"How do think we're going to attack it, Kenny? Our planes cannot  
  
possibley repel firepower of that magnitude!" Tails said over the comm.  
  
"Well, let's attack it before it has a chance to fire." Kenny suggested.  
  
And that they attempted to do to the best of their fighter and dodging skills. They fired at the main cannon of Robotnik's Egg Carrier as best they could. However, it seemed that they were not so much as putting a dent in the powerful weapon.  
  
"And now, to finish this." Robotnik snickered, "Epsilon, fire the main cannon!"  
  
Suddenly, like a miracle, a black blur soared from below the Egg  
  
Carrier, and went smashing through the main cannon's energy flux capacitor. The result was an overload of energy, which further resulted in an explosion!  
  
"What the...who was that?!" Sonic shouted in surprise.  
  
"Hey, guys! Did you honestly think I was going to let you KO Robotnik and keep all of the reward?" a voice laughed over their radios.  
  
Dave grimaced a bit. "John. I should have known it was you who caused that explosion." he commented.  
  
"So, are we going to storm this flying castle or what?" John said as he brought his ship in close proximity of the Egg Carrier.  
  
"Right. Bringing in the Gust for a landing!" Kenny announced as he brought his plane in for a...well, you know.  
  
"Tails, land us on the main deck." Sonic commanded.  
  
"Uh-oh...Sonic, we have a problem." Tails gulped.  
  
Sonic's right eyebrow was raised as he asked, "That being?"  
  
"I don't have landing gear with this mode!" Tails replied.  
  
"WHAAAAAAAA?!" Sonic shouted as their ship headed towards the main deck and crash-landed. Fortunately, when they landed, they were still alive.  
  
"Hmph! Amateur!" Kenny said as he brought his plane in for the landing.  
  
As he got close to the deck, Dave nervously asked, "Um...Kenny, this thing does have landing gear, doesn't it?"  
  
"Sure, it does! Watch this!" Kenny said as he pressed a button. As their plane got close to the deck, it came down and stopped almost immediately, which then launched Dave off of the biplane's wings.  
  
"Magnets. Gotta love em'!" Kenny said as he patted the landing gear.  
  
"Considering what just happened, that's debatable." Dave commented as he got to his feet.  
  
Tails looked around for a moment then asked, "Where's John?"  
  
"Forget him! He wouldn't care a drop of spit for us!" Sonic muttered.  
  
Suddenly, something dropped down in back of Sonic with a hard clang. It was John, suited up in his armor.  
  
"Heheheh...thought we lost you." Sonic said with a sheepish grin.  
  
Then, John shook his head for a moment. He looked at Sonic for a  
  
moment, then said, in a horrified tone, "No. Of all times, not now!"  
  
"What is he talking about?" Tails asked Dave.  
  
"Run. As fast as you can." Dave whispered, hoping that Sonic and Tails would heed his warning. John was pulling out his lightsaber!  
  
"DIIIIIIIIIIIE!" John shrieked as he nearly brought the red blade of the lightsaber down like a guillotine on Sonic's head! Fortunately, Sonic's speed saved him.  
  
Kenny quickly whipped out his two lightsabers as he said, "John, have you gone mad?! You're attacking your own allies!!!"  
  
"You're not fooling me, witch! Not this time! I'm going to finish this RIGHT NOW!" John snarled as he leaped and prepared to slice at Tails.  
  
However, three lightsaber blades got in his way. The blades belonging to Dave and Kenny.  
  
"Sonic! Tails! You guys go and find Amy. We'll deal with John! GO!" Dave ordered.  
  
But as Mobius's main heroes ran off, Sonic looked back at the two Jedi clashing with the former bounty hunter and asked, "Are you sure you can handle him?"  
  
"Positive. Now go!" Dave called back.  
  
With that, Sonic departed, leaving his two friends.  
  
Throughout their battle, Kenny tried his best to get in and cut at John's armor. But when his lightsabers hit the armor, it only made a loud clang!  
  
"So it is true. John has found a metal that's resistant to  
  
lightsabers!" Kenny thought...just before he got kicked in the face by the blue echidna.  
  
"It may be resistant to our weapons, Kenny, but not to the power of Force." Dave telepathically (by use of the Force) told his young Padawan. With that, Dave took a huge leap backward, away from John and called upon the Force.  
  
"John! Listen to me! If a spell has been placed on you, you have to fight it!" Dave told the Enforcer, "Don't let Blue Fang's curse take control!"  
  
Suddenly, the ship started to rock and shake violently.  
  
"Ship quake!!!" Kenny cried  
  
The shaking got so violent that John started to loose his footing and tumble towards the front of the ship...close to falling off altogether!!!  
  
He tried desparately to cling onto something but only continued to rip up the runway! But before John went over the edge and fell to his doom, something caught him.  
  
It was Dave and Kenny, holding him at his wrists.  
  
"John!" Dave called, "We can't hold you up for long! Climb up!" Two of John's dreadlocks surged up and over the Jedi Knights and secured themselves by smashing into the runway. John then heaved himself up.  
  
"Now, what the heck was all that shaking about?" Kenny asked. They looked and saw that the ship had changed shape, with two wide wings at the rear of the vehicle. Wings lined with weapons!!!  
  
"We've sped up. That's why this ship has changed its form." Dave muttered.  
  
Kenny then asked, "Where are we headed, anyway?"  
  
John look at the horizon. "Mobitropolis! He's going to destroy  
  
Mobitropolis!"  
  
Dave frowned as he said, "Then we haven't much time. Let's move!"  
  
John said, "You guys go on ahead. There's some business I need to take care of first."  
  
With that, the armored echidna ran off and began climbing along the hull of the ship.  
  
"Man, that guy's crazy!" Kenny said.  
  
Dave turned to his Padawan learner and said, "Let's bring this flying fortress down."  
  
Meanwhile, back in the jail cells...  
  
"I wish Sonic would get here sooner." Amy commented as she sat down in her cell, "He wouldn't dare leave his girlfriend here to rot away."  
  
Neon, on the other hand, was banging her head against a wall. "This is madness! If I don't get out of here and away from that little pink nuisance, I'm going to go crazy!"  
  
Then, as if Neon's request had been answered, the door to the jail cells opened up. In stepped one of Robotnik's E-100 series robots, E-102 Gamma, to be exact. Apparently, Robotnik rebuilt him. It went past her and down to the cell that held Amy.  
  
"Go away!" she shouted at the robot.  
  
"Give me the bird." E-102 demanded.  
  
Amy held the bird away from the bars, in what would be considered a futile method to keep it out of the robot's manipulators, and defiantly shouted, "No!"  
  
"Resistance is useless. Surrender the bird!" the robot demanded,  
  
getting angry, which was not normal for a robot.  
  
"No! Never!" Amy cried.  
  
"Why not?" the robot asked.  
  
" 'Why not?' " Neon wondered, "What's wrong with that mobile tin can? Just take the darn bird, you idiot! And while you're at it, take that brat with you!"  
  
"None of your business!" Amy shouted, "Tell me why you want the bird, now!"  
  
"Data unavailable." E-102 stated, "My master, Lord Robotnik wants the bird. I must obey and bring the bird to him."  
  
"You don't even know why Robotnik wants Birdy, here?" Amy asked. She then became angry and said, "I bet you and your master would be mean to him, you bully!"  
  
"This does not compute." E-102 muttered, "You have feelings for  
  
something you know nothing about and should not have become involved in. Illogical!"  
  
"I pity you, being nothing more but a heartless machine." Amy said, "Why don't you help us escape? Don't you know how bad we feel?"  
  
"Oh, for God's sake, just take them away and go!!!" Neon shouted at them. She was getting quite tired of this ridiculous debacle and she wanted it to end.  
  
Suddenly, the bird flew from Amy's hands and towards E-102. "Birdy, come back! That's what he wants!" she cried.  
  
But instead of seizing the bird and leaving, the robot just stared. It lasted for about three minutes, this stare-off between the small avian and the large automaton. Finally, E-102 went to a large trigger and pushed it down, opening the bars to Amy's cell. "Go. Escape." E-102 ordered.  
  
"W-what?!" Amy asked in surprise.  
  
"Hurry. Reinforcements will be here any minute. You must go and leave this place." Gamma replied.  
  
"Why don't you come with us? Eggman is not the kind of person you should be working for. He's evil." Amy pleaded.  
  
"Tell me about it. He had YOU imprisoned in here with me!" Neon said, getting a terrible headache from this whole ordeal.  
  
"I'll watch your back and see you off this vessal. But after that, I cannot follow you." Gamma answered.  
  
"Okay. Well, c'mon! Let's go!" she said.  
  
As the hedgehog and robot left, Neon let out a sigh of relief and said, "Finally. She's gone."  
  
But then it dawned on her. She was still imprisoned in her cell!!!  
  
"DOH!" she cursed aloud.  
  
John had found his way inside of the Egg Carrier through a hole in the hull that his ship made with a laser cannon blast. His silvery-blue eyes glimmered with anticipation, the anticipation of liberating Mobius of a great evil...plus Blue Fang and her two goons, if he was lucky. Truth be known, he was mostly after Blue Fang. He KNEW how much trouble she caused when she was on her own homeworld. On HIS homeworld...oh, he didn't even dare to think about it. He didn't know how powerful Blue Fang was, exactly, but he didn't want to take the chance of her becoming more powerful and more deadly than she already  
  
was.  
  
She had to be stopped before she accumulated more power.  
  
He made his way down the steamy, smoldering, alarm-lit hallways, cutting down anything or any-bot that got in his way and threatened him.  
  
A camera focused on him as he took down an E-series robot. He looked back at the camera and snarled, "It's rude to stare." He then made one of his dreadlocks surge upward and spear the camera.  
  
He then heard the sound of laser blasts, followed by high-pitched  
  
screams. It was in a passageway to his right. Amy the Hedgehog. He knew her kind of screams anywhere.  
  
"Do I make with the nice guy act and save the girl from danger, or do I continue my hunt for Eggman and my adversaries?" John wondered. Saving Amy would be a considerable delay to his return to Chandral, to his lady love.  
  
He then remembered...remembered his time on Chandral. Neela. Adonna-Lyn. Would he dare let them down, believing that he returned to his selfish ways as a bounty hunter? They would never forgive him. NEVER!  
  
"Forgive me, fair Adon." John muttered, "Forgive me for keeping you waiting, but I must help an innocent before she comes to serious harm."  
  
At the back of his mind, he could almost swear he telepathically heard Adonna-Lyn's delicate, yet-strong-and-defiant voice saying, "I forgive you for that, John the Enforcer. I will await your return."  
  
He then ran in the direction of Amy's screams. He switched on an X-ray option to see what kind of trouble young Miss Rose was in. She was being pursued by...  
  
"A Zero Unit!" John angrily growled. The last time he ran into robots of its kind, it was back on Chandral, preparing to roughly bring Adonna-Lyn to Robotnik. Apparently, there was more where that thing came from. This was very personal.  
  
Amy cringed. The Zero Unit led her here into this dead-end on purpose. Now it had her cornered. She held the bird close to her being. She intended to protect it.  
  
More than anything, even over her fear, she felt sad for Gamma. He tried to protect her from the Zero Unit, only to be clobbered and reduced a trash heap.  
  
The Zero Unit locked on to her with its targetting laser, its large hands opened wide, ready to clamp her into its cold, metallic grip...  
  
Something exploded out of the floor below and went on to attack the robot with two blades of red, glowing light. When it slowed down for a mere moment, Amy got a look...and gasped in horror. It was the Enforcer.  
  
"Don't you robots ever die?!" John roared as he slashed at the robot, but not doing any damage. He was getting particularly perturbed by this persistant pest. It then punched John in the face with its large fists, both of them. It sent John right over Amy and crashing into the wall behind her.  
  
"ENOUGH!" John yelled in all his fury! A compartment on one of the armored chestplates opened up revealing a rack of vials containing a clear blue liquid. This was something John used as a last resort aside from his mental lightning attack. It was a chemical he created. When ingested, it transformed John from a rational, decision-making being into a ferocious beast, capable of shredding a being limb from limb. While its effects were temporary and left no harmful side-effects, John kept this powerful liquid in check, for while he was  
  
under its influence, he was not able to distinguish friend from foe. But for now, this robot was severly pissing him off!  
  
He grabbed a vial, deactivated his armor, popped the cork of one of the vials and drank its contents. It gave off a thoroughly unpleasant smell and its taste was particually vile in itself. Its effects were a slight bit slow in building up, but he could feel it. An unquenchable rage was swelling up from deep within him, building in intensity. Soon, he would not be able to think clearly. He turned to Amy and, in a near beastial voice, said, "Amy...Get out of here! It would...be...in your best interests!"  
  
Without any further question, she managed to run past the Zero Unit. It had found a new target. It charged at John...just as the blue echidna looked back at him, with eyes now without his cool, complacent thought. With a growl as wild as the beasts he had faced in his lifetime, he lunged at the robot, his hands now ending in sharp claws, fangs sprouting from his teeth, his dreadlocks ending in sharp points, and claws sprouting out of his shoes!  
  
It launched its hands at John, hoping to grab onto the blue echidna and shock him to death with an electric charge. John dodged, however, and leaped at the connectors for the hands, ripping them apart with unearthly strength. He growled in approval of his actions. The robot, now feeling utterly defenseless, tried to hover away. John, with his mind out of his control, would not let the robot get away so easily. He bounded after it, moving around on all fours as he  
  
pursued his quarry and lept onto its back. He opened his mouth wide and bit at the back of the robot, exposing vulnerable wires and circuits. He sunk his claws deep into its interiors and savagely ripped its electronic innards out, causing the Zero Unit to malfunction, short-circuit, and collapse.  
  
But as he growled an equivalent of an evil chuckle and unleashed a triumphant shriek, he was unaware that he was being watched...  
  
"So, is THIS the end result of your 'spells', witch?" Robotnik asked as he pointed at the screen displaying John in his temporary but frightening bestial form.  
  
Blue Fang let out a contemptuous sniff and replied, "Hardly. I've never seen anything like this. I vehemently doubt that he is able to transform into this fierce creature on his own."  
  
Robotnik, however, looked at this situation another way. "If he's like this, he will be nothing more but fair game. This a golden opportunity!!! Get down there and kill him!" he ordered.  
  
"But...my lord, would it not be more prudent to have us by your side? Let your robots deal with him. I'm certain that he can't face up to an army of them." Blue Fang suggested.  
  
"HE...JUST...TOOK DOWN...ONE OF MY TOUGHEST UNITS! What does that tell you?" Robotnik snarled, "Get your furry selves down there, and deal with him! That's an order!!!"  
  
"I've got a better idea." Blue Fang said, a cunning smirk appearing on her face, "How about you kiss my ass, and we just leave you to your fate?"  
  
"Wha...so that's your game. Mutiny! TREASON!" Robotnik roared as he went for a laser gun. But when he tried to shoot it at Blue Fang, Sleet and Dingo, the weapon refused to fire.  
  
Blue Fang laughed as she and her goons began to slowly vanish and said, "Just lookin' out for my own hide, and besides, I hate your kind anyway! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"  
  
Robotnik threw down his pistol in frustration and yelled, "TRAITORS!!!"  
  
Robotnik's aggravated yell was heard even into the bowels of the ship where John was. His head perked up a bit while listening to it. Fresh meat, he concluded with his currently-primitive instincts. He began to proceed to a doorway where he heard the sound come from...just as a sudden pain began to wrack his mind and the rest of his body. He released an agonizing howl of anguish before collapsing on the metal floor.  
  
Dave and Kenny had made their way inside of the Egg Carrier and came across John as the effects of John's bestial steroid chemical began to wear off. John was beginning to revert back to his regular form as the two Jedi came upon him.  
  
"What the hell?" Kenny asked.  
  
John shook his head and said, "What a rush!" He noticed the two Mobian Jedi Knights standing there and, as he got up and brushed himself off, asked, "What're you guys lookin' at? You'd think you'd never seen me before!"  
  
Kenny commented, "Well, not with sharp protrusions receding into your body like the way we've just seen. What the heck happ-"  
  
John glared at the young vampire bat and interrupted, "Do me a favor: Don't ask!"  
  
With that, John ran off.  
  
"Dave? Explanation?" Kenny asked.  
  
Dave merely bowed his head low, with his eyes closed, and said, "John's gotten into chemical warfare, and he's used one on himself."  
  
A moment of silence passed.  
  
"Well, what're we waitin' for?" Kenny shouted, "We've gotta sink this flying battleship and quick!"  
  
"Agreed, but be mindful, my young Padawan. I sense a great disturbance in the Force, like booming thunder disrupting the quiet of a sunny day." Dave cautioned as he and his young friend proceeded onward.  
  
But as the Jedi Knights went on, Blue Fang, Sleet and Dingo materialized into the area they left behind.  
  
"Jedi Knights. I hate, absolutely HATE, Jedi Knights!" Blue Fang  
  
snarled, "Next to Echidnas, they are the most despicable life forms in the galaxy!  
  
Dingo, being as clueless as possible, asked, "So, why do you hate  
  
Echidnas and Jedi, Blue Fang?"  
  
She angrily turned to the Luperian hyena, grabbed him by the throat and snapped, "I'LL TELL YOU WHY! Those scumbags wiped out the Order of Darkness (minus myself and a couple other members, of course), utterly ruined my life, and worst of all, they killed my husband! ARE THOSE GOOD ENOUGH REASONS FOR YOU?!"  
  
Dingo, as best as he could in his strangled position, replied, "Okay. Point made."  
  
"Good. And Sleet?" Blue Fang glowered, "Make sure your partner never asks that question again!"  
  
With that, the Chandralite vixen released Dingo, leaving him to Sleet to administer the usual "discipline". Deep down, Blue Fang's wicked heart ached. The Echidnas and the Chandral Jedi were resposible for the death of her beloved mate, Lord Tarkalius, the last ruler of the Order. She loved Tarkalius dearly, and she would violently avenge his death, starting with the Princess Adonna-Lyn and her father, Neela (the youngest daughter of the Jedi who fought alongside King Aaron when they defeated Tarkalius), and especially, the Enforcer.  
  
"Oh, yes. The Enforcer will certainly be the first to pay!" Blue Fang thought to herself. After all, HE freed Princess Adonna-Lyn from the clutches of the late Brutus, HE helped the echidna princess back to her palace home, HE helped her to defeat Blue Fang, and HE had the audacity to reduce her to a dancing slave girl, only to be brought an inch closer to death by one of John's employers during his time as a bounty hunter! The fire of vengence was burning bright within her and she sought to incinerate the blue echidna with its flames!  
  
"Um...Blue Fang? Why are we betraying Robotnik so early in your plans?" Sleet asked, "I thought we'd betray AFTER he took over Mobius."  
  
"With the Enforcer on-board, as well as those other pests, I'm not taking any chances or sticking around this flying trash heap. We've got to get out of here before we also go down with this ship!" Blue Fang shouted as they ran to the Luperian bounty hunters' ship, "The Crimson Howl".  
  
It was a dark red, scorpian-shaped vehicle. It could function in the air, on the ground, on top of water, and the depths of space. It came equipped with a cloaking device, a broadband receiver, four laser cannons, a concussion missle launcher, and a small ion cannon. Its windows were yellow and acted like mirrors to those outside of the ship. Blue Fang and her two sidekicks boared the Crimson Howl and blasted its way out of the docking bay of the Egg Carrier.  
  
"Where to now?" Sleet asked.  
  
Blue Fang grinned and said, "To Mobitropolis. I have a feeling that we shall meet the Enforcer there. And with him out of the way, Mobius is ours for the taking."  
  
Neon Dragon paced back and forth in her cell. This was getting very aggravating. She was in that cell for 6 hours and it was already driving her berserk!  
  
Suddenly, she heard the sounds of laser fire outside of the prison cell area. It then came to a dead silence. She then heard the security system spouting its usual "Unauthorized Personal Identified. Access Denied!" crap. Then, with a growl heard, the door was blown open by a powerful explosion!  
  
Marching his way into the room was the Enforcer!  
  
"Thank goodness, it's you!" Neon exclaimed, "I was wondering when you were going to show up and get me the hell out of here!"  
  
"Stand back. I'm going to cut the door out." John said.  
  
"Not much for conversation, are you?" she said with a blast of hot air from her nose.  
  
John pulled out his lightsaber and began to cut around the bars. "I'm afraid we don't have much time for small talk. I set some charges about the ship. If we don't get off this crate in twenty-five minutes, we're going up...or should I say, down...with it." he explained.  
  
Upon hearing that, Neon shouted, "Then what're you babbling for? Hurry up!"  
  
Finally, the Enforcer finished with an arch-like cut around the bars. He then grabbed the bars and threw them aside as if it were nothing more but mere dead weight.  
  
"C'mon! Time for us rats to abandon this sinking ship!" John commented as he ran for the exit.  
  
"Don't have to tell me twice, blue boy! Just wait for me!" she called as she chased after him.  
  
John decided it would be better to move on ahead. There were still many robots on board, and he wanted to pave the way off of Ro-butt-nik's flying aircraft carrier! "Once we get to the main deck, I'll have Heavy bring the ShadowHunter here and pick us up." John informed Neon mentally.  
  
"And after that?" Neon thought, seeing if John could read her thoughts.  
  
"My main hunt must continue." he answered telepathically.  
  
Neon angrily thought, "Is that all that matters to you?! Just hunting Robotnik and that stupid vixen? Don't you give any thought to those they've harmed?"  
  
John stopped, turned around, grabbed Neon by her shoulders and said, "I do give thought to the victims...and I am ashamed that I allowed Robotnik to take over so long ago. I knew he was planning treachery, to overthrow the throne of Acorn. However, my fear of suffering the fate that countless others have kept me from reporting Robotnik to his Majesty, King Acorn. I do mourn for those who have lost their free lives to Robotnik...which is why I must hunt him  
  
down and kill him. Without that tyrant, Mobius shall never suffer under him again. The vixen, on the other hand...I should have killed her when I had the chance. She's next!"  
  
"Where do you think you're going, Amy?" Robotnik snarled as he closed in on the pink hedgehog. He was aboard his flying, one-man vehicle.  
  
"Eggman!" Amy shouted in surprise.  
  
"I'll take that!" Robotnik grinned as a mechanical claw from his vehicle grabbed the bird from Amy's hands.  
  
"Stop it! You'll hurt him!" Amy shouted, almost going to tears.  
  
The fat tyrant laughed and caused the claw to start crushing the  
  
bird...until a blue Chaos Emerald fell into Robotnik's hands. "AHA! Here's the real prize!" Robotnik chortled as he held the powerful gem aloft.  
  
Amy then cried, "You got what you want, Eggman! Now let the birdy go!"  
  
"Hmmmmmmmm......NAH!" Robotnik snickered as he increased the crushing power of the grabber claw.  
  
But before the situation became worse, a yellow blur went throught the claw, cleanly cutting it off! It was Dave! And in his hands was the bird.  
  
"Dave! You saved the birdy!" Amy cried happily.  
  
"Amy, get out of here! Kenny! Tails! Fly her to safety." Dave ordered, "Sonic and I will deal with Robotnik."  
  
"Me, too!" a rough voice shouted behind them. It was Knuckles!  
  
"And me, as well!" John said, pulling out his red-bladed lightsaber.  
  
"Away! All of you! Gamma!" Robotnik called.  
  
Behind Sonic and Dave, E-102 Gamma appeared from a hatch.  
  
"Eradicate these pests! Give them all you've got!" Robotnik ordered.  
  
The robot stood silently.  
  
"Gamma! That's an order from your master!" Robotnik yelled angrily.  
  
E-102, instead, aimed his right arm at the fat doctor and fired at him!  
  
"Wha...What's gotten into you?!?" Robotnik cried in shock.  
  
"Dr. Robotnik: ENEMY! Master Registration: DELETED! DESTROY!"  
  
"I'm surrounded by traitors, even my own robots!" Robotnik growled as he pulled out a blaster and fired at Gamma! The blast connected with the robot's head and knocked him backwards.  
  
"NO!" Amy shouted.  
  
"Darn it! I'm not gonna keep fixing him if he's going to keep being destroyed." John muttered.  
  
Neon looked at John and asked, "You fixed him?"  
  
John looked back at her and replied, "I did. It was after I managed to destroy one of Robotnik's Zero Units. I also gave him new programming."  
  
"To hunt Robotnik." Neon realized.  
  
John smiled and said, "Exactly."  
  
"To Hell with all of you! I have better things to do with my time than waste it with the likes of you!" Robotnik shouted as he piloted his vehicle away from the gathered Mobians and Detrossian.  
  
"You're not getting away that easily!" Sonic shouted after him. With that, Sonic, Dave, and Knuckles chased after the wretched tyrant.  
  
Amy ran over to the wreckage of E-102. "Please, mister robot. Please get up.", she tearfully begged. She turned to John and said, "Please, Enforcer. You fixed him before. Please fix him again."  
  
"John, we're running out of time." Neon Dragon warned him.  
  
John glanced at Neon, then at Amy. He moved towards the robot and said, "Amy, stand aside."  
  
With that, Amy obeyed.  
  
John deactivated his helmet, and switched on the monacle at one side of his head. It came over his left eye and gave his eye a magnification of the damage that Robotnik's shot had done. John concluded, "It'll take ten minutes, but I can repair him, perhaps give him a couple of upgrades."  
  
Neon asked, "How much time do we have left before this ship explodes?"  
  
John checked a timer on his arm and answered, "Twenty-one minutes, fifty seconds, and counting."  
  
Neon grimaced a bit. That only left them with eleven minutes to get away from the ship, knowing that the explosives John planted must be pretty powerful, powerful enough to bring down a ship this size!  
  
Sonic and his friends came to a circular deck, where Eggman, Big the Cat, his pet Froggy, and Chaos 4 were.  
  
Dave looked at Froggy. It certainly didn't look like a frog. It had a long tail that ended with a slight arrowhead shape.  
  
Robotnik threw the fifth Chaos Emerald just as the mutated frog  
  
upchucked the sixth Chaos Emerald, both of which flew into Chaos 4 and mutated the watery monster into something with frog-like legs, a fang-filled mouth and eight, spider-like eyes! CHAOS 6!  
  
"Hmm...just one lovely emerald away from becoming its ultimate form, and it still doesn't have its...AHA! The frog has Chaos' tail!" Robotnik chortled, "Chaos, seize that frog! It has your tail!"  
  
In an instant, several watery tendrils shot out of Chaos 6's mouth and grabbed the unfortunate amphibian. With a slight croak of fright, it was pulled into the creature. Inside, the tail Froggy had began to slowly decrease in size until there was nothing more but a diminuitive stub on him. Chaos 6 then began to grow a long tail at the back of its body...a tail that ended in a scythe-like tip!  
  
"Froggy! I gotta save Froggy!" Big shouted in despair.  
  
Sonic turned to Big and said, "Don't worry, pal. We'll get him out!"  
  
Big called, even thought it was pretty impossible for Froggy to hear, "Hang on, Froggy! We'll get you out of there!"  
  
Dave knew that the situation had gotten even further out of hand than it already had. He sensed John's thoughts with help from the Force. The blue fool had placed explosives at various parts of the ship. His thoughts were interrupted by a triumphant yell.  
  
"Hurray! Froggy, you're okay! I'll never let them take you away  
  
again." Big happily said as he held the frog in his hands.  
  
"Alright, now move out! We'll take care of the rest of this." Sonic said to the elated cat.  
  
"Oh, right. Thanks for your help!" he called back. The large cat then ran away from what would be an raging battle.  
  
"Let's see how you fools deal with this!" Robotnik laughed maniacally as the bottom of his one-man vehicle began to spew out dozens of head-sized satelites. From the bottom of them sprayed liquid nitrogen. Some of it hit Knuckles and it began to freeze him!  
  
"That's chilling!" Sonic lightly joked.  
  
Then, Chaos 6 began to create a suction, leading straight into its mouth!  
  
Dave damaged one of the satellites and threw it at Chaos 6. The  
  
creature reacted violently, for a moment, then its entire body froze!  
  
"Now, Sonic! Hit it!" Dave shouted.  
  
Sonic grinned, said, "Leave it to me!", and spin-dashed into the watery monster. In a blur of smashed ice and a roar of pain and rage, Chaos 6 defrosted and angrily turned on the hedgehogs! It shot out numerous tendrils and tried to snag the hedgehogs and pull them into its body, where it would hopefully drown them!  
  
"That should just about do it." John said as he finally fixed E-102, wiping the sweat from his brow.  
  
The robot got up onto its feet and looked around. It saw Amy and said, "ID: Amy Rose Hedgehog. Designation: Protectorate. Mission perameters: Protect Amy Rose from harm, respect her privacy,..."  
  
"'Respect her privacy'?" Neon asked.  
  
"Well..." John said while shrugging. He did not finish because he then received a strong hug from Amy.  
  
"Oh, thank you!" she cried happily, "Thank you for repairing the robot!"  
  
"I've not only repaired him. I've given him a shield generator, a portable ion cannon, and a B-654 defense action chip. Such will help in protecting you." John explained.  
  
"You're the best...next to Sonic, of course." Amy sighed.  
  
John anime-fainted for a moment, then quickly got up and said, "Well, for the time being, I'll take that as a compliment."  
  
Suddenly, an explosion rocked the ship! Neon turned to John and said, "I thought we had 11 minutes to get off the Egg Carrier!"  
  
John sweatdropped for a moment then mentioned, "I...uh...set the bombs at different times."  
  
Neon snarled for a moment and muttered, "Great! Just great!"  
  
Kenny glanced over to Tails and said, "Well, come on. Let's get the little whiner out of here!" With that, the two fliers flew over to Amy, grabbed ahold of her hands, and started to take to the air.  
  
Tails looked at Gamma and said, "Hope you can fly, buddy!"  
  
"Mode change!" the robot droned. Its legs began fold up, its head did a vertical split and three propellor blades popped out and began to spin like those on a helicoptor.  
  
"Okay. So, he can fly." Kenny commented as he, Tails, Amy, and E-102 flew away from the Egg Carrier.  
  
Neon turned to John and asked, "Shouldn't we be doing the same thing? Where's your ship?"  
  
Then, the ShadowHunter appeared alongside the EggCarrier's deck,  
  
switching off its cloaking device.  
  
"Cute. Very cute." she muttered.  
  
Heavy appeared out of an airlock and shouted, "Last flight, leaving for AWAY FROM THE EGG CARRIER! All aboooooooard!"  
  
"Ladies first." John offered to Neon.  
  
"Wise guy." she said with a cool smirk.  
  
Just then, a large metal hand grabbed John and pulled him away from the ShadowHunter. It was a Zero Unit, followed by a mob of its kind!  
  
"Heavy! Take off! NOW!" John shouted as he was pulled right into the midst of the heavily armored robots.  
  
"Come, Neon!" Heavy said as he pulled on Neon's hands and tried to get her aboard the ShadowHunter.  
  
"But...we can't just leave him! He's going to get clobbered by that horde!" she protested.  
  
"John can take care of himself. Right now, we must leave before they finish with him and turn on us." Heavy replied, "Besides, the worst they could do is kill him...Come to think of it, you might have the right idea in mind. But let's destroy them from within the safety of the ShadowHunter."  
  
As they ran through the confines of John's ship, Heavy directed the Detrossian Dragon to the gunnery chair. It resembled a high-tech recliner with a microphone and camera off to the the side of where the head of the user would be positioned. The main guns resembled a pair of high-tech cannons, with the trigger close to the seat. "I'll take care of piloting the ship. I hope you're a good shot." Heavy said.  
  
"You forget, Heavy, that I was one of Robotnik's soldiers. He trained me to be a good shot." she said with a confident grin as she strapped herself into the harness.  
  
Heavy made his way to the cockpit and got into the pilot's chair.  
  
"Alright, Neon, stay sharp and on the alert. Robotnik might send in his fighters."  
  
Bad timing. Just as Heavy made his warning, several fighters appeared over the edge of the deck and charged up their weapons...just as the bridge burst into a fiery explosion. Then the fighters just harmlessly dropped without even firing their weapons. Apparently, John left one of his explosives there and that part of the ship was controlling Robotnik's drone fighters.  
  
"You were saying?" Neon gloated.  
  
Heavy put his head on his left hand and said, "Oh, just fire at the robots attempting to kill John and be done with it!"  
  
Neon took careful aim. She practically obliterated five of the fifteen robots pummeling John!  
  
"Not bad aim, my Dragon friend." Heavy complimented, "Now, just deal with the other ten and I think I can fly the ship low enough for the capture claw to seize John and get us out of here!"  
  
She fired again. This time she managed to take out seven of the  
  
remaining ten....just as reinforcements began to appear from a door twenty feet away! She fired and destroyed the remaining robots beating on John. She felt the ship move forward until they were right over John. A robotic arm came out from the underside of the ship, seized an unconcious John around the waist, and brought him on board.  
  
The reinforcements began to swarm all over the ship, pounding at the Ditanium-Alloy casing as the ShadowHunter began to soar away from the Egg Carrier. Heavy merely glanced at the attacking Zero Units, then pushed a blue button while muttering, "If it's one thing that I cannot stand, it's hitchhikers!"  
  
Electrical surges pulsed and coarsed all around the ship, causing the heavily armored mechanical morons to short-circuit and fall off as the ShadowHunter picked up speed. Way behind them, the Egg Carrier erupted into flames as it fell downward to the ocean.  
  
Neon looked back at the exploding ship and said to herself, "I hope the others got off in time."  
  
"I highly doubt it." Heavy stated, as if she and the old Mechanix drone were conversing with each other, "But, knowing those Jedi, Knuckles, and Robotnik, it is possible they made it off before that wretched vechicle went up...or should I say, down. Right now, we need to check on John and make sure he's alright."  
  
Meanwhile, in some ancient temple on the Floating Island...  
  
"Bunnie, come take a look at this!" Sally called over as she and the rabbot were viewing some archaic hyroglyphics on an ancient stone wall. They had made their way past many traps and obstacles that were seriously meant to keep them away from something important...until they reached a central chamber inside the temple. There, a ring of torches lit up the room, revealing a vast number of strange inscriptions and elaborate tile murals.  
  
"According to Nicole, these glyphs date back to over twelve thousand years in Mobius' history, when echidnas first settled in on the Floating Island. Someone of their race was certainly interested in preserving their history." Sally said as she read the read-outs from Nichole, her hand-held computer.  
  
"Well, whadda they say, Sally-girl?" Bunnie asked, turning her head slightly, "And can we please do this quick? This place gives me the heebie-jeebies!"  
  
Sally frowned as she too looked around and said, "Me, too. I feel like something or someone is watching us."  
  
They then came to what looked like a huge mural. In it, a particularly large and frightening-looking creature was clutching several old buildings in blue tendrils. Echidnas in the picture were either fleeing for their lives or "drowing within" the creature.  
  
"My...God!" Sally gasped.  
  
"Oh, mah stars!" Bunnie whispered in horrified, near-silence.  
  
"Find something interestin'?" a gravely voice asked behind them. They both turned to see the Chaotix!  
  
Espio pointed towards them and snapped, "You were warned by John to get lost and stay away from the Floating Island! Obviously, you stupid mammals can't take a hint...No offense, Mighty."  
  
Mighty merely muttered, "None taken."  
  
"Listen! You have to warn John and everyone else! If that liquid monstrosity acquires all of the legendary seven Chaos Emeralds, it will cause a disaster more catastrophic than the great Mobius quake of 317...oof!" Sally tried to warn them until Espio ran up and slugged her in the stomach.  
  
"What happens to you landlubbers is none of our concern!" Espio growled, "Last chance! Get lost or the sounds of your friend's screams of pain will be the last you ever hear!"  
  
But as Espio made his threat, he felt something clobber him from the side of his face. While on the ground, he angrily mumbled, "I know only one being that hits like that!"  
  
"Darn right, Espio!" Knuckles said as he stood over the chaemeleon, "If I EVER see you threaten the princess like that again, I'll personally cut off that ridiculous horn on your head!"  
  
Knuckles, however, received a hard, scaly tail slap to the head from Vector. "Boys! We are leaving!" Vector called to the others as he scooped up Espio and headed for another of their secret entrances into FICC.  
  
Sally helped Knuckles to his feet as he muttered, "I should have seen that coming. Me, the Guardian of the Floating Island, taken down by a tail-slap from a lowly member of that blue idiot's goon squad!"  
  
"Forget about them, Knuckles. Right now, we think you should see this." Sally said as she guided him to the mural they had seen.  
  
Knuckles' eyes went wide with surprise. "By the Master Emerald!  
  
It...it can't be! Chaos!"  
  
"Now, wait a minute! Tell us everthing about Chaos!" Bunnie requested.  
  
Knuckles lowered his head. It was in his people's nature not to divulge such secret information, but since he could see no way out of it, he began, "Chaos is a watery creature, an elemental spirit, if you will. He is able to absorb the power of the seven legendary Chaos Emeralds, change his very physical structure, and become stronger. According to Echidna lore, Chaos wiped out an entire tribe of echidnas until a particular echidna, my great (times 50) aunt Tikal, somehow managed to trap Chaos within the Master Emerald during its rampage of destruction. There are even rumors that Tikal sealed her very soul  
  
within the Master Emerald along with Chaos, in hopes that she could calm the angered spirit. This is as much as my father, the Guardian Locke, told me."  
  
"Is there a way to stop Chaos, let alone destroy him?" Sally asked.  
  
The red echidna burst into laughter. When he calmed himself down, he turned to Sally and sarcastically said, "You honestly think I would know how to stop a metamorphic being made of H2O?! Here's an idea! Let's just construct a giant sponge! That'll hold him! GET A CLUE, PRINCESS! You can't stop it and neither can I! This world is doomed, you hear me?! DOOOOOMED!" After that, Knuckles began to laugh like a lunatic!  
  
Sally, getting extremely aggravated, slapped Knuckles across the face and yelled, "Snap out of it, Knuckles!"  
  
The red echidna eventually came to senses. "I...I'm sorry, Sal. I don't know what came over me."  
  
"No kidding." she commented, "Now, one more time. Can we stop Chaos?"  
  
Knuckles then said, "I faced the monster aboard Robotnik's ship. It was between me, Dave, Sonic, Eggman, and Chaos. It already had six Chaos Emeralds in its watery form. It's getting bigger everytime we face it. Pretty soon, it might become unstop...Wait a minute. That's it!"  
  
Bunnie cocked her head to her right and asked, "What's it?"  
  
"The Master Emerald! That's what held the beast for thousands of years! Maybe, I can use the Master Emerald's powers to neutralize the six Chaos Emeralds it has already absorbed, possibley to even seal Chaos back into it!" Knuckles explained.  
  
"Hu...wha?" John wondered, "Where the heck am I?"  
  
It was a lush, green, jungle-like environment. Then, amidst a clearing, he saw it.  
  
A massive stone shrine stood in the middle of the clearing. Atop seven pedestals stood seven gems, each one a different, glowing color. Water poured from different parts around the central section of the shrine except for a stairway leading up to...  
  
"The Master Emerald?! But...how?" he wondered in his startled state, "Am I dead?"  
  
Playing, singing, tackling each other around the shrine were small creatures. Each one had a teddy bear-like body with an onion-shaped head with a pair of oval-shaped eyes and a small ball above each of their heads. Chao, John believed they were called...  
  
Then, appearing from the underbrush, were two echidnas. One was an old brown echidna with thick, white eyebrows and a pair of unrevealing glasses over his eyes. He held what looked like a spear with several sharp, curving blades.  
  
The other echidna was a young, pretty, pink female, who wore ornate jewelry and also held an ornate spear. She was very pretty, but in comparison to Adonna-Lyn's beauty, it was a pale comparison.  
  
Both of the echidnas were wearing clothes John identified as that of an echidna clan known as the Knuckles clan. Theirs was a warrior clan, fit to fight and ready to conquer.  
  
"Father, would you look at these small creatures? Aren't they  
  
wonderful?" the girl, Tikal, asked.  
  
"Yes...wonderful." the father, Panachromac, replied.  
  
John sensed the older echidna's tone of voice. It wasn't the creatures that got her daughter's attention that caught his interest. It was the jewels that surrounded the shrine that he was more captivated with. He knew that the jewels meant power.  
  
The two echidnas left. Then the chao began to surround the shrine and chant in their high-pitched voices.  
  
Suddenly, rising out of the water was...  
  
"Is he awake, yet?" Neon asked Heavy as they watched John's unconcious form. John was an absolute mess of bruises and cuts that were leaking his dark green blood out.  
  
"It's hard to tell with him." Heavy sighed, "He did take quite a  
  
beating. Heaven only knows when he'll recover."  
  
John's eyes began to twitch with life, the bruises and cuts beginning to disappear.  
  
"He's coming to." Neon noted aloud.  
  
Heavy began to shove Neon gently away from John. "Let's give him some room. There's no telling how he's going to react when he awakens completely."  
  
He looked up at the robot and Detrossian Dragon and, in a weakened voice, whispered, "Heavy? Neon? Where...?"  
  
"It's alright, John. You're aboard the ShadowHunter, now." Heavy stated, "How do you feel?"  
  
"I just got the crap kicked out of me by a bunch of Robotnik's bully boys. How do you THINK I feel, ya old bucket of bolts?" John smiled as he stretched his limbs out, "Where are we now?"  
  
Heavy answered, "We're about 300 miles due west of Mobitropolis."  
  
Suddenly, without so much as a verbal warning, John activated his armor and ran to the airlock of the ship.  
  
"Sir, where are you going?!" Heavy shouted after his echidna friend.  
  
"Blue Fang...I sense her...she's in the city. This time, she will not escape." John snarled as he opened the airlock door and flew towards the polluted city.  
  
Neon sighed and said, "I guess somebody's gotta watch his back. I'll go after him."  
  
"Take care, Neon. Blue Fang certainly is not an enemy to  
  
underestimate." Heavy warned.  
  
On the distant world of Chandral, someone also had the same intentions of keeping John safe.  
  
"Neela, I need you to cover for me while I'm gone." Adonna-Lyn, the daughter of the Supreme Ruler of Chandral requested of her lady-in-waiting.  
  
"Your Highness, please reconsider what you're about to do. You don't know what's on Mobius!" the squirrel servant girl pleaded of the echidna princess. But after a quick look from Adonna-Lyn, she said, "Oh, I forgot. Your kind are psychic!"  
  
"Darn right, and I sensed a malignant prescense on Mobius. The last time I felt it, it was when Blue Fang was around." Adonna-Lyn said as she pulled out a dark cloth and wrapped it around her head until only her eyes and a few tufts of her hair were showing above her eyes were showing. She then took a cloak and draped it around herself. She finally put on a green pair of Arabian style slipper-shoes.  
  
"Blue Fang?! But, John assured me that where that witch would be going, there would be no return for her." Neela said, a cold chill going down her spine as she remembered the screams of those who lost their lives to the vixen enchantress.  
  
"I thought so, too. But it is painfully apparent that witch has friends in lower places that helped her to escape the fate John had hoped she'd suffer." Adonna-Lyn said as she made sure the dark cloth around her face hid her features well, "How do I look?"  
  
"Even I'd have a hard time recognizing you." Neela laughed, "Be sure to take some Nikto berries with you. A teleport that far will surely drain you."  
  
"I already have taken that into account, Neela. Don't worry so much about me. I can take care of myself." Adonna-Lyn reassured as she began to teleport.  
  
"Return home safely, your Highness." Neela said as she bowed her head down in solitude...  
  
Upon the echidna princess' arrival on Mobius, she found that she was in a rather polluted and decrept place. Her instincts told her that her true love was close by...as well as her most hated enemy. But before she even made a move, she felt a sudden drain in her strength.  
  
"That would be the drain Neela warned me about." Adonna-Lyn thought as she quickly downed a Nikto berry, tasting its sweet juices as they trickled down her throat. She then decided to rest for a slight moment, feeling that doing so would help regain her strength. But as she did so, she could almost swear she heard the voice of her betrothed husband-to-be...  
  
"I know you're here, Blue Fang! Show yourself, if you're enchantress enough!" John challenged as he stood at one end of an empty street.  
  
No response.  
  
"Very well. If necessary, I'll tear down this whole damn city if that's what it takes to find you!!!" John snarled...just as a light fixture bent down and wrapped around his body!  
  
"So, there's still some bit of heartlessness left in you, Enforcer. I thought you lost it all when she came into your life." Blue Fang chortled as she stepped out of the shadows of a nearby alley.  
  
"Finally decided to reveal yourself, huh, witch?" John growled as he tried to break free from the light fixture that encircled him and was starting to constrict him, "If you want to kill me, why don't you do it yourself instead of just letting some inanimate object do the job for you?"  
  
"Well, that's just to soften you up for my comrades. Old friends of yours, I believe." Blue Fang sneered as she snapped her fingers.  
  
"Hello, Enforcer. Long time, no see. Remember us?" Sleet said as he and Dingo stepped out behind John and approached him.  
  
"Yeah, I remember you two fowl-ups. You losers couldn't bounty hunt to save your lives, let alone eke out a living." John grinned.  
  
Blue Fang's eyes narrowed. "What is he talking about?"  
  
"Blue Fang, I swear, you're stupider than you look. Don't you know that Slip and Dingus here have never, ever completed a mission successfully?" John commented.  
  
"Shut up, Enforcer!" Sleet hissed.  
  
"Well, he does have a point there, Sleet. Remember when the Republic had a bounty placed on that mass-murderer?" Dingo asked.  
  
"Shut up, you idiot!" Sleet shouted as he hit his dim-witted partner in the face with his gun.  
  
"Sleet? Dingo? Is there something you two should have told me BEFORE I hired you?!" Blue Fang growled.  
  
"Um.....no." Sleet said as he approached John and raised the butt of his blaster pistol to hit him, "Look, let's just beat him senseless then get the hell outta here."  
  
But before he had a chance, Blue Fang stopped him and said, "Let me. I've had it coming to him ever since he took away what was rightfully mine."  
  
Blue Fang had her fingernails extend into claws and she began to slash repeatedly at the trapped echidna. John's dark green blood began to pour out violently from the wounds, his agonized screams of pain echoing throughout the city streets of Mobitropolis.  
  
"You would not believe how much I hate your kind, Enforcer!" Blue Fang hissed as she continued her attacks, "Once I'm through with you, I'll kill Princess Adonna-Lyn and every last member of your foul race!"  
  
Just then, a fireball hit her tail! She screamed for a moment, then used an icy spell to put out the fire. The fireball, however, did its work. It had burned off the light blue fur at the end of her tail, leaving only a small, hairless tip of skin. She growled angrily and shouted, "Whoever-did-that, how dare you singe and ruin my beautiful tail!"  
  
Then, Neon Dragon flew down and kicked the vile enchantress, sending her crashing into Dingo! "I dare, because this echidna is under my protective guard and I will defend him, even if it must be to the death!"  
  
"Well, Enforcer, looks like you have friends in high places." Sleet commented.  
  
"Or rather, low places...like when I send this foolish reptile to her grave!!!" Blue Fang roared in her rage as she launched a fireball at the Detrossian.  
  
Neon, however, smacked it away, saying, "You really are stupid! Don't you know my kind are resistant to heat?"  
  
The sneer on the vixen's face was not encouraging. "What about extreme cold, I wonder." Blue Fang said as she summoned her powers.  
  
"That was a mistake, revealing what I'm strong against!" Neon mentally cursed as she quickly conjured a fireball to counteract what ever Blue Fang was sending her way.  
  
Blue Fang then slammed her hand into the ground and caused part of the ground to surge up in front of Neon and hit her in the jaw!  
  
"Didn't see that one coming, did you, dragon?!" Blue Fang laughed  
  
maniacally.  
  
Suddenly, part of the ground opened up under her. When she fell, the hole clamped shut around her waist! As she tried to push herself out of the hole, her hand slipped on something. It was a puddle of John's blood.  
  
"What is this? Mobians don't have green blood." she wondered.  
  
Neon wondered the same thing when she felt something wet touching her arm. "But it can't be. The only type of echidnas that have blood of this color are...Is it possible? Is he the one? The one those hooded vermin strived to create?"  
  
John's eyes were glowing as he faced Blue Fang. The enchantress then felt the sides of the hole closing on her, attempting to crush her!  
  
"Release her now, bounty hunter!" Sleet snarled as he fired repeatedly at John.  
  
John, unable to move or so much even duck as best as he could, kept receiving the shots from Sleet, until three blades of light blocked the Luperian's shots and redirected them back at him.  
  
"YIPES!" Sleet cried as he ducked to block his own shots. There,  
  
standing in front of John was Dave and Kenny, their lightsabers ingnited and glowing in the cold, dark night. John, however, blacked out from the pain he was suffering. With his focus gone, Blue Fang was able to pull herself out of the hole that John trapped her in. With a slight growl, she then sent forth a wave of dark enery that created a slight trench between her goons and the Jedi.  
  
"Let's get out of here! This isn't our fight!" Blue Fang ordered.  
  
Dingo asked, "But what about the Enforcer?"  
  
"We'll deal with him, and these pesky Jedi knights later!" Blue Fang explained as she and the two Luperians beat a hasty retreat.  
  
Neon Dragon, who had recovered from the blow Blue Fang had dealt her, quickly went over to John and used a fireball she held in her hand to "cut" John out of the twisted lamp post. The blue echidna fell out of the make-shift cage and hit the ground. She did her best to revive him. He awoke with a start and said, "Blue Fang...I have to stop her!" With that, he leaped away from Neon and continued his pursuit.  
  
"John, get back here! You're not completely healed!" Neon shouted after him when he noticed a trail of dark green blood trailing behind him...  
  
John ran across the crumbling rooftops of Mobitropolis as he chased after Blue Fang and her two minions. They were headed for the Luperians' ship, he sensed, and after eating their dust for more times than he could bare, it was about time he had caught up.  
  
He stopped for a moment. It wasn't only the pain from his wounds that were slowing him down. He felt another prescence nearby. Whomever or whatever it was, it was powerful enough to block John out from pinpointing the exact identity of the individual.  
  
Shaking his head and remembering his hunt, he moved on until he finally caught up with Blue Fang and had her in his sights. He pulled out his blaster, knelt down, and prepared to fire at her.  
  
But before he even squeezed off one shot, something hit his blaster and knocked it out of his hands. The next thing he knew, he received a kick in the back of his head that knocked him to the ground under him.  
  
"Thought you could just harm Princess Sally and me and get away with it, didn't you, mate?" a voice snapped. John knew who it was and growled. Geoffrey St. John!  
  
And from the other scents John was picking up, the skunk was not alone. Eleven other Royal Secret Service agents were with him. He sensed their strength, their fighting skills. Nowhere near to matching his superior skills, but with their twelve to his one, he didn't dare take any chances.  
  
John quickly tried to leap and grab his blaster. But during mid-leap, St. John fired an arrow from his wrist-mounted crossbow and hit John in his left thigh. The blue echidna cried out in pain and hit the ground just inches from his blaster...just as a female racoon kicked it away from his hands.  
  
"Frakes! Dolph! Slap the cuffs on him!" Geoffrey ordered. A bear and wolf came up and slapped odd-looking manacles around John's wrists and ankles, which then slammed together with a metallic clang.  
  
"Magnets. Gotta love em'." Geoffrey sneered as he walked up and kicked John in the jaw.  
  
"Alright, St. John. We've got him, already." a female cat remarked, "Don't sink to his level."  
  
Geoffrey glared at that officer and said, "Do you have any idea how much trouble this...beast has caused the Kingdom of Acorn, how much pain he has inflicted upon the galaxy? I'm going to end his reign of terror. Right here, right now!" With that, Geoffrey kicked John in the stomach and knocked the wind out of him.  
  
"Leave him alone!" a female voice ordered. The Secret Service agents turned to face a cloaked figure, her appearance hidden under robes.  
  
"Who the devil are you?" Geoffrey asked.  
  
The figure's eyes narrowed as she snapped, "That's none of your concern! Step away from him. NOW!"  
  
"I don't think so." Geoffrey snapped back as he kicked John in the face.  
  
With a shout of rage, the figure rushed at the group of agents...  
  
Dave, Kenny, and Neon Dragon ran up the stairs of the building that the two Jedi sensed John was on top of. But as they did, Kenny picked up the sounds of laser blasts, shouts and screams with his sensitive ears. But he also heard the sounds of someone firing blasts of a psychic nature.  
  
"Well, Kenny? What's the situation?" Dave asked.  
  
Kenny perked his ears up as he said, "Fourteen people on the roof. One's John...and from the sound of his panting, he really had the crap kicked out of him. Another's...complete mystery to me. The others are Royal Secret Service Agents...and from the sounds of it, Geoffrey's with em'."  
  
"A loose cannon, I take it?" Neon asked...just as a female agent fell right past of one of the cracked windows and hit the city street!  
  
"I'll go check up on her and see if she's okay." Neon said as she burned a hole right into the wall and glided down on her wings.  
  
Dave turned to his padawan and said, "C'mon! Let's get up there and stop this fight before others are harmed."  
  
Neon came upon the injured agent. As it turned out, she hit an awning on the way down and that helped to slow her descent. But the fall seemed like a walk in the park compared to the injuries that the agent, a cat, suffered.  
  
"Hey, friend, what happened?" Neon asked.  
  
The cat looked up at her, her nose bloodied, and weakly said, "Th-th-the...f-f-f-female...warrior...must stop...must stop her...before she...uhhhhhh...." The agent slipped into unconciousness.  
  
"A female warrior?" the Detrossian wondered, "Well, that doesn't matter. I've got to get this person to a doctor or she won't have a chance."  
  
Dave and Kenny finally made it to the roof...and were astonished by what they saw.  
  
Nine Secret Service Agents, all well-trained and heavily-armed, were lying about the ground, with bruises or worse. And beyond them was a furious fight going on between Geoffrey and the mysterious girl.  
  
At one point, he locked his arms with her, grinned, and taunted, "C'mon! Stop trying to hit me and HIT ME!" He then tried to slam his head into hers...only to reel back in pain after he did so.  
  
In a shocking turn of events, the female just raised one eyebrow and said, "Is that all you've got?"  
  
"What the hell?! That should have affected you as well!" Geoffrey shouted as he put his hands to his head and rubbed his temples, as if that would have relieved him of the pain he felt at that moment.  
  
Then John wrapped his dreadlocks around Geoffrey's ankles and tripped him up, shouting, "Now! Get him!"  
  
The mysterious figure then rushed up and jabbed the skunk in the neck with the retractable spur in her left wrist. Within seconds, Geoffrey was out like a light.  
  
She then ran over to John, telekinetically forced the manacles off of him, and asked, "John, my love, are you alright?"  
  
"Look at me, my dear Adonna-Lyn. Both Blue Fang and Geoffrey St. Jerk did a number on me." John said as he directed his rescuer's attention to his scars and bruises.  
  
"These little things?" she laughed, "You must be joking." The disguised echidna princess went to work healing her lover.  
  
After John was completely healed, she got up and said, "Now, be careful. I can't always be coming to your rescue, John."  
  
"I'll look forward to seeing your fair face again, once Robotnik and Blue Fang are utterly destroyed." he said as he finally closed his eyes to rest and regain his strength.  
  
"Farewell, beloved." she said with a smile as she turned to leave...only to be confronted by Dave and Kenny.  
  
"I think you've some explaining to do, miss..." Dave said.  
  
"My name is not important. But his safety is. So if you bozos are looking for trouble..." Adonna-Lyn started to say, going into a defensive stance...until she noticed their lightsabers, "Lightsabers? You're Jedi?!"  
  
"Took you long enough, babe. Just who are you?" Kenny commented...just as she kicked the young vampire bat in the face.  
  
"You little chauvenistic pig! How dare you refer to me that way?!" she snapped at him.  
  
"Now look here, you! That is certainly no way to..." Dave said until the echidna princess' eyes glared back at him.  
  
"And as for you, hedge-boy, I suggest you train your young friend some better manners and respect!" she ordered.  
  
"Hedge-boy?" Dave said, taken aback by such an odd name.  
  
Kenny, however, recovered quickly, took to the air and grabbed her with his foot-claws.  
  
"Hey! Release me at once, you little winged rat!" she cried out.  
  
Kenny did not comply. Instead, he reached downward with his hands and said, "Let's lose the cloth and find out who you really are!"  
  
"No! Stop it!" she demanded.  
  
But it was too late, for the young vampire bat removed the cloth that was wrapped around her head and exposed her fair face. "Manoman! You're more than a babe! You're a ROYAL babe!" Kenny drooled as he looked at her.  
  
Without warning, Adonna-Lyn slammed her wrist-spurs (both of them) into Kenny's legs!  
  
"Yow!" Kenny screamed out as he and the echidna princess fell to the roof where Dave watched, stunned.  
  
As Kenny hit the roof, Dave ran to him and looked him over. Despite the antivenom that they had injected into themselves, Kenny's eyes became dilated and bloodshot, a sign that the echidna venom was rushing through his system, bringing him ever so much closer to unconciousness.  
  
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY PADAWAN?!" Dave shouted at her.  
  
"The same, I'm afraid, that I'll have to do to you. I can't have you two running around with the knowledge of my existence. It...It's just not for you two to know about me." she replied as she then jabbed Dave in the neck with her spurs. With a slight groan of pain, Dave fell over, succumbing to the venom's effects.  
  
"Forgive me, Jedi warriors. My people normally hold your kind in deep respect." she thought as she placed her hands on their heads and mentally erased their memories of her being there that day.  
  
With that, she turned to John, kissed him on the cheek and said, "Take care of yourself, John Echidna. My heart shall always belong to you." And with that said and done, she vanished from their sight.  
  
Upon her return to Chandral, she reappeared in her bedroom.  
  
Surprisingly, she did not feel the drain of strength that she felt when she teleported to Mobius.  
  
"Been somewhere, I see." a voice said behind her. It was her father!  
  
"Hoo-boy. Here comes trouble." Adonna-Lyn thought to herself.  
  
A week later...  
  
"It's strange guys." John said to his loyal compatriots, plus Neon Dragon, who was now a member of the Chaotix.  
  
"No sign of Ro-butt-nik, Blue Fang, or even that Chaos character." Vector added, "Whaddya think happened to them all?"  
  
"Wish I knew. I can't sense any of..." John started to say, until they all felt a sudden and contiuous drop. Then, there was a large splash outside of FICC, which confirmed John's worst suspicions: The Floating Island has fallen again!  
  
"Everybody okay?" John asked of the sudden pile of his comrades.  
  
"I will be once Vector gets his fat tail outta my face!" Espio snapped while grabbing the tail in question.  
  
Vector then said, "Espio, that's not my tail."  
  
Neon then shouted, "HEY! WATCH WHAT YOU'RE TOUCHING, YOU PERVERTS! AND WATCH YOUR MOUTH IN REGARDS TO ANY PART OF ME!"  
  
Mighty, at the bottom of the heap, then said, "Whoever's-on-top-of-me, you need to go on a diet because you're crushing me!  
  
"Oh! So sorry." Heavy apologized as he got off the armadillo.  
  
"That stupid Knuckles! Can't he protect the Master Emerald for more than a minute?" John fumed as he ran to one of the windows...just as a large, yellow, reptillian eye went past the window!  
  
"Oh, shit. He's back." John muttered in terror.  
  
"SONIC!" Tails shouted as he ran to his "big bro" and Dave as they were about to take a slight rest from their adventures.  
  
"I just want a little rest. Is that to much to ask?" Dave mumbled to himself.  
  
Sonic smiled and asked, "What's up little bro?"  
  
"The Floating Island...it...it's fallen...into the ocean...again." Tails panted.  
  
"WHAT?! Who blew it this time?!" Sonic shouted, desparate for details.  
  
Dave and his padawan knew what the cause was immediately. Chaos!  
  
"Come. We haven't the time to waste." Dave said as he and Kenny ran in the direction of their plane.  
  
Sonic called after them, "Guys, our plane was hijacked by Big and crash-landed on the Floating Island. We can't reach the island without tagging along with you! Wait up!"  
  
The blue speedster stopped. "Tails, did that just come out of me? 'Wait up'?!"  
  
Tails shook his head, grabbed Sonic by the wrist and said, "C'mon, you blue knucklehead."  
  
They boarded the Gust and flew to the Floating Island...only to meet with signs of a disaster.  
  
Knuckles and Dr. Eggman were down on the ground, both looking like they had the living crap kicked out of them. The Master Emerald shrine wasn't any better. The seven pillars were toppled over and ruined even further than they already were. The Master Emerald was knocked over, and the six of the Seven Chaos were gone!  
  
"Knuckles? Knuckles! What happened here?" Sonic asked of his "friendly nemesis".  
  
The red Guardian looked up at Sonic weakly and answered, "S-S-Sonic...C-C-C-C-C-C-C-Chaos...returned...He took the...six Emeralds that I took from him...I...I couldn't stop him..."  
  
"Grrrr....That stupid beast is not going to get away with this!!!" Robotnik roared in full rage as he got up, ran to his one-man vehicle, and took off in a seemingly awkward direction.  
  
But before Sonic and Tails went after him, Dave said, "Let him go for now. Right now, he's not thinking straight, and that means he's too dangerous to deal with."  
  
Sonic grumbled for a moment then said, "Oh...alright. Guess we better find the Tornado 2 and find the last emerald before Chaos does."  
  
"What the heck's wrong with the Zoom Tube?!" John said as he, Vector, and Mighty took one of John's high-speed elevators to the surface of the Floating Island.  
  
"According to the scanners, there's something on top of the shaft." Neon answered over the comm system.  
  
Mighty stretched his arms out for a moment and said, "Yep. Looks like another job for my unmatched strength." So, with a single punch, the armadillo cleared the obstruction...which turned out to be the crashed remains of the Tornado 2.  
  
Vector gave the demolished plane the once-over and said, "Well, the engine's a keeper, but otherwise, this thing's a heap o' junk."  
  
John grinned and said, "The engine's not the only salvageable part. Feast your eyes on this little snack." In the blue echidna's hand was a red Chaos Emerald, one of the Seven Chaos.  
  
"Yow! That's definitely a keeper, bossman!" Vector gasped in surprise.  
  
Mighty then noticed something to the north of their position and said in a shaking voice, "Um...John? Something's heading this way!"  
  
"What...is...oh, my God!" John muttered in utter horror. Coming  
  
straight at them was a funnel shaped piller of water. At the top of it was a pair of yellow, hungry eyes. Eyes hungry for the red gem John held in his hands!  
  
"RETREAT!" John ordered.  
  
Vector, as he made his way back to the Zoom Tube, muttered, "Manoman! There's no place like home! There's no place like home! There's no place like home! There's no place like home!"  
  
Mighty, on the other hand got in front of John.  
  
"Mighty, don't be a fool! Save yourself!" John ordered.  
  
Mighty got John ahead of him as they ran back to their only possible chance of escape. "Sure, I'll save myself...after I get you back into FICC!"  
  
Just then, a solid jet of water was launched at Mighty from the funnel. It caught the armadillo in the chest, sent him flying through the air, and crashed him into a thick tree, casuing it to topple over upon contact.  
  
Then, the funnel turned on John.  
  
John began to run as fast as he could, but even that was not enough. The funnel swept the blue echidna up and into the air. Within the funnel, John felt some horrid, liquid force trying to wrench the Chaos Emerald right out of his grip. John tightened his grip, knowing that the emerald would bring about grave misfortune in the hands of the evil that was trying to take it from him. After much fortitude, however, the emerald was ripped out of his hands. John then felt himself being flung out and crashing into several trees.  
  
The thundering and whistling of the funnel was then replaced by the angry sound of Knuckles voice.  
  
"What the hell have you done with the final emerald, you blue rat?!" Knuckles shouted as he gripped John by the throat.  
  
"Knuckles, trying to strangle John isn't going to help us find that last emerald. Let him go!" Sonic said.  
  
"Ch-ch-Chaos...took...emerald...gone..." John weakly said.  
  
"BULLSHIT!" Knuckles roared as he punched John in the stomach, "You probabley stole it, you liar!"  
  
"No. John's right this time, Knux." Dave said as he spread his Force senses about the clearing, "Chaos was here. I can feel his prescence all about this area."  
  
Tails looked away for a moment, saw something that scared him out of his wits, and said, "Um, g-g-g-guys? Something tells me we'll all be feeling his prescence in a few moments!"  
  
"Huh?" Knuckles said as he and the others looked in Tails' direction.  
  
A huge tidal wave was surging towards the island at incredble speeds. Dave sensed a dreadful feeling of vengence and anger as it approached. It was Chaos!  
  
"Surf's up, eh?" John whispered smugly.  
  
Knuckles angrily grabbed John by his front two dreadlocks and then punched him again. "This is all your fault! If you weren't around, this would've never happened! Now, because your mother met your father, you've doomed the Floating Island!"  
  
John, angered to hear his parents mentioned in such a disrespectful manner (even if he didn't know who his parents were), lunged at Knuckles with his fist-claws extended and tried to slash at the Guardian.  
  
"John! Knuckles! We don't have time for this! We have to get to higher ground or we'll drown!" Dave cried as Sonic and Tails already began to beat a hasty retreat.  
  
The two echidnas, however, either didn't hear Dave or didn't care. They continued their dreadful fight, not even so much as taking notice of the watery death that neared them.  
  
"This time, it shall be the end of you, tech-rat!" Knuckles thought as he and John locked arms with each other.  
  
"This island's only big enough for one guardian, you red-headed fool!" John growled, "And I think you shall be the one to go!"  
  
Then, the wave crashed down on them, and they knew nothing more...  
  
"Hey, I think he's coming to...again." Kenny commented.  
  
Knuckles said, "Good. One more chance!"  
  
Kenny quickly grabbed Knuckles by his rear dreadlocks and said, "Not so fast, knuckleknob! I'm afraid we can't allow you to kill John."  
  
"HAS THIS PLANET GONE MAD?!" Knuckles shouted, "This blue-  
  
skinned...FREAK will kill us all unless he's destroyed!"  
  
Then Knuckles felt it. A sharp pain in his backside. John stabbed him in the back with his left spur. The red guardian felt the numbness flow throughout his body until he felt so weak, he had to lie down on ground.  
  
Kenny shook his head and said, "John, there must be an easier way for you to do what you just did without injecting that junk into people."  
  
"Hey, atleast I shut him up." John said as he looked down at Knuckles' unconcious body...before kicking it.  
  
"I think that was very unnecessary!" Tails protested.  
  
"Do I insult your parents?" John snapped to the two-tailed fox. When he received a "no" answer, he then said, "Then Knuckles shouldn't have insulted mine...that is, if I actually HAD parents."  
  
"Say what?!" Kenny gasped in surprise.  
  
John lowered his head for a moment, then muttered, "Just forget it." He then looked about. He was on top of the ruins of Echidnopolis, many of its still-living citizens scrambling for higher ground, as the city was now flooded.  
  
"Whoa! Kenny, look! Eggman's back!" Tails shouted.  
  
Upon the mention of the bloated lunatic's name, John turned to  
  
see..."Another Egg Carrier?! How can that be?!" John wondered.  
  
From the deck of the Egg Carrier, Robotnik glared at his target, the beast known now as Perfect Chaos!  
  
It was humongous! It had the look of a sea serpant, its jaws extending as far back as the neck. Near the "nose" of the creature was its yellow, reptillian eyes. Two large, watery tendrils were on both sides of the creature, whipping about aimlessly.  
  
"Good thing I had this second, lovely ship ready for just such an  
  
occasion." Robotnik muttered in a slight rage, "You have defied your master, you stupid beast. Prepare to meet oblivion! Ready the main cannon!"  
  
Perfect Chaos, however, had something better in mind than being sent to the Great Beyond. It got the tip of its mouth aimed down into the flooded streets of Echidnopolis and began to take in large quantities of water. The oddly-shaped knobs on its back started to glow with unnatural light. John didn't really know what Chaos was up to, not knowing all the particulars about the watery beast, but he could tell it would certainly be nothing good for Robotnik.  
  
Perfect Chaos aimed its snout in the Egg Carrier's direction and  
  
unleashed a brilliant ray of light at it. Upon impact, the titanic flying fortress began to crumble and lose its structural integrity. Robotnik scrambled to his personal one-man vehicle, clambered in, and furiously tried to activate it's engines...just as an explosion sent him and the vehicle flying through the air.  
  
John heard Robotnik screaming as his vehicle was flung aimlessly into the air. He watched the Eggman, calculating his landing trajectory then commanded, "Armor: Swoop Bike Mode!"  
  
Kenny and Tails watched as John's armor took on the appearance of a hovering motorbike. Kenny then shouted, "Hey! Where are you going?!"  
  
"Robotnik...his head is mine!" John snarled as he drove off in the direction of the bloated terrorist's location.  
  
"Great. Now how're we gonna face that thing?" Kenny asked...just as a small, grey jewel fell on his head, "OW! What the hell?!" He picked it up, examined it, then said, "Tails, this thing's one of the seven Chaos Emeralds. But...it's been drained of its energy. It's worthless!"  
  
Tails looked at the small jewel, then at Sonic. His face began to brighten considerabley as he said, "Kenny, they're not completely worthless! I've got an idea!"  
  
"Blast it all!" Robotnik cursed as he pounded the ground like a two-year-old, "The plan was so perfect! Have Chaos wipe out every one of these furry vermin and then build my empire! But that wretched beast turned against me! It's not fair! It's just not fair! It's..."  
  
"A good day to die, isn't it, Doctor?" a rather ominous voice snarled behind him. He turned, and saw the Enforcer behind him!  
  
"YOU! N-n-now, Mr. Enforcer...Can't we discuss this like civilized beings?!" Robotnik asked as he tried to back away from the slowly advancing bounty hunter. The armored echidna was pulling out a weapon that he had no problem recognizing. A double-bladed lightsaber!  
  
Robotnik then tried to scramble to his feet and run for his life...just as one of the invincible blades of light cut him in half!  
  
"Hmph. All too easy." John thought...just as the fat tyrant's upper torso began to run away on his hands! "You've gotta be kidding me!"  
  
With that, John charged and carved off his arms!  
  
"Um...how about you and I make a deal? You let me live...and I'll give you anything you want! Power! Fame! Wealth beyond your imaginings!" Robotnik offered.  
  
"You are too dangerous to let live. I think I'll just end your  
  
existence right here, right now!" John said as he raised his lightsaber high and prepared to bring it down on Robotnik's head.  
  
Robotnik grinned, despite his rather terrifying fate, and said, "Go ahead. Kill me. I'll come back, more powerful than before, just like I did when Sonic and that Jedi nerd Dave KO'ed me the first time!"  
  
John, his face hidden within his armor, grinned back and said, "Funny you should mention that. Vector, come in!"  
  
"Comin' in loud an' clear, boss echidna! You wouldn't believe how many of these Robotnik clone guys are in here." Vector replied on a comm-link.  
  
"You guys done there?" John asked.  
  
Espio replied, "All the concussion grenades are in place. All we need now is the word."  
  
John grinned. "The word is given. Now get your asses out of there!"  
  
Vector then said, "Okay, boys! The word has been given! FIRE IN THE HOLE!  
  
The next thing John heard was Vector and the others rushing out of the chamber where the Robotnik Mark 2 he was facing came from. Then, a loud explosion was heard. After hearing the panting of his friends, Vector said, "Boss echidna...mission Wasps' Nest is complete. There'll be no more of the fat man comin' back from the dead."  
  
"Glad to here it, boys. Return to FICC. I've got some unfinished business to attend to." John replied as he took the lightsaber blade and lopped off Robotnik's head. Robotnik's face was transfixed with a look of anger. A nice touch.  
  
"I'm sure King Acorn will reward me for this." John muttered as he picked up Robotnik's head and flew in the direction of Mobitropolis...  
  
EPILOGUE  
  
"Hmph! 'His Royal Majesty'! More like his royal tightwad!" John  
  
snarled as he threw in the reward money for Robotnik's death into FICC's vault.  
  
"Hey, man. Ten million Mobiums is nothing to sneeze at." Vector offered.  
  
As John closed the vault's door, he said, "Yeah, I know, but the  
  
original bounty on Robuttnik was 50 million. That cheapskate cheated me because he doesn't like my guts."  
  
"Eh, royalty." Vector said with a shrug, "They're all high and mighty and think they practically owe ya nothing. What're ya gonna do?"  
  
John answered Vector's comment as if it were a question, "I'm going to the Main Control Room for a while for some quiet time. Make sure everyone leaves me alone."  
  
"Ten-four, good buddy." Vector replied with a mock salute.  
  
As John entered the Main Control Room, he pondered about his next move.  
  
With Robotnik out of the way, Mobius was a step closer to peace.  
  
However, Blue Fang was still on the planet. Safety was still fleeting, as long as the enchantress lived. John cursed her, knowing she would be a considerable delay to his reunion with Adonna-Lyn.  
  
John sat down in the main chair in front of a large screen. "Aptiva, display footage of Adonna-Lyn fighting the Secret Service."  
  
John watched her time her every punch, every kick, every whip of her dreadlocks. It was poetry in motion, to say the least.  
  
"One more time." John said with a smile. He loved to watch a  
  
professional at work...  
  
THE END. (FINALLY!)  
  
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COPYRIGHTS:  
  
John the Echidna, Adonna-Lyn, Neela, Blue Fang, and other stuff are copyright of...well, me, John "the Enforcer" Fadeley  
  
Dave the Hedgehog and Kenny the Vampire Bat are copyright of Dave "The Gold Jedi" Fadeley  
  
Neon Dragon is copyright of the way-past-cool artist Emma Goodman  
  
NoOman Dog, Taichiguy, ChowChow, Sebastian, and Pokemobians are copyright of Jimi Newman, the supreme New Zealander.  
  
Scribblez Moonshadow is copyright of her player (Sorry, I never caught her real name)  
  
Sonic, Tails, Robotnik and all other characters and stuff are copyright of Sonic Team and Sega  
  
Princess Sally, Bunnie, and all other characters are copyright of Archie Comics and DiC  
  
Lightsabers, blasters, and other such things are copyright of Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox.  
  
All Pokemon featured in this story are copyright of Nintendo, GameFreak and Creatures.  
  
SPECIAL THANKS:  
  
Neon Dragon: Thank you for the use of your character and for all the excellent artwork you've done for me. I'll look forward to using your character in chapters to come.  
  
NoOman Dog: Thank you for your support of my works and for the use of your characters. I shall certainly look forward to having you and your buddies star in the next chapter.  
  
Scribblez: Thank you for the use of your character.  
  
Dave the Gold Jedi: Thank you for being there for me when I was feeling down and for making me laugh when I needed it.  
  
To all companies: Thank you for your hard works that would help inspire this fanfiction.  
  
To the Almighty: Last but certainly not least, I thank you, God, for my talent in writing. Be with us as we face an uncertain future and take care of the victims of September 11th's tragedy.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
John hunts the wicked Blue Fang on his homeplanet, but as he does, he begins to feel unwell. What is the cause? And how is it tied in with Mobius' sister planet of Chandral? Find out in The Enforcer Saga Chapter Five: Husband and Wife. Special starring appearances by NoOman Dog and his characters. ^____^ 


End file.
